Indonesia floods leave two dozen dead, several missing

People were seen paddling in small lifeboats or tyre inner-tubes to get around

INDONESIA-WEATHER/FLOODS A girl is carried by her father across floodwaters in the Jatinegara area after heavy rains in Jakarta, Indonesia | Reuters

Indonesia is off to a terrible start this year with severe floods leaving two dozen dead and several missing after torrential rains pounded the Jakarta region. The heavy rainfall triggered landslides and has left large parts of the region inundated. 

Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters in the area, home to some 30 million, with scores of homes damaged.

Service at Halim Perdanakusuma airport, which handles commercial and military planes, was temporarily shut due to severe flooding on its runways, according to the transport ministry. It was reopened Thursday.

Some flights were transferred to Jakarta's main Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

This is the worst floods the city has witnessed after 2013, that killed dozens. Jakarta is regularly hit by floods during Indonesia's rainy season, which started in late November.

"The latest toll is 21 dead," Social Affairs Minister Juliari Peter Batubara said, and added that the “toll won't keep going up.” The local disaster agency in Lebak regency at the south end of Java island said it had confirmed two residents died due to flash flooding and it was investigating reports that three more people perished.

People were seen paddling in small lifeboats or tyre inner-tubes to get around; cars were covered in muddy waters and homes watterlogged

The floodwater reached a depth of between 30 and 200 centimetres in the greater Jakarta area according to Agus Wibowo, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

A witness said that the floods hit without warning. Around Jakarta, an eight-year-old boy killed in a landslide and an 82-year-old pensioner were among the confirmed victims. Some people were killed due to hypothermia and a 16-year-old lost his life after being electrocuted by a power line.

Electricity was switched off on Wednesday in Jakarta to prevent more electrocution. Some train lines and city airports were shut too.

According to the weather forecast, Jakarta, the rest of Java, and Indonesia’s eastern provinces will face extreme weather for the rest of the week.