The flooded Ciliwung River overflows its banks across Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta and Bukit Duri in South Jakarta on Jan. 2.                                               --Photo the Jakarta Post

Death toll in Jakarta’s floods rises to 16

Jakarta (Kyodo News) -- The death toll in the worst flooding to hit Indonesia’s capital Jakarta in over a decade has increased to 16, with almost 20,000 people displaced, the government’s disaster agency said Thursday.
The capital and surrounding areas have been hit by unusually heavy rains since Tuesday. As of Thursday morning, flooding of main roads in Greater Jakarta was causing serious traffic congestion, while submersion of some railway tracks was also affecting train commuters.
The most affected areas were Bekasi in the suburbs of Jakarta, followed by South and East Jakarta, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.
Rainfall reached a record high of 377 millimeters in the Halim area of East Jakarta, while northern and western parts of Java Island have also been affected, with residents in some areas urged to evacuate.
Halim Perdanakusuma airport in East Jakarta, which serves mostly domestic flights, was closed after its runways were submerged.
On Thursday, power was still switched off in hundreds of locations in the Greater Jakarta area for safety reasons. However, at least one of the victims Wednesday died from electrocution.
The Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency predicted that further extreme rainfall may occur in Jakarta until Saturday.
In 2007, floods in Jakarta and its surrounding areas killed at least 80 people and displaced about 320,000 others.

(Latest Update January 2, 2019