Five dead, three missing after Jakarta floods

Motorists are seen trapped on a flooded toll road after heavy rain in Bekasi, West Java on February 25, 2020. – Dozens of Jakarta neighborhoods were flooded February 25 after torrential rains pounded Indonesia’s capital, less than two months after nearly 70 people were killed in some of the megacity’s worst flooding in years. (Photo by REZAS / AFP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Five people were killed, three more are missing and thousands are unable to return to their waterlogged homes after floods submerged parts of Indonesia’s capital, officials said Wednesday.

The muddy deluge inundated the presidential palace, a major hospital, and entire neighborhoods across Jakarta on Tuesday, only weeks after 70 residents of the low-lying megacity died in some of the deadliest floodings in memory.

Two teenagers were among the five people drowned or electrocuted in hard-hit parts of the city, Indonesia’s national disaster agency said.

“The joint rescue team is still searching” for three other possible victims, agency spokesman Agus Wibowo told AFP, adding that nearly 20,000 people were staying in emergency shelters.

Floodwaters reached more than a meter (three feet) in some parts of the capital but were receding by Wednesday, a day after rescuers combed drenched districts in pontoon boats to locate vulnerable residents.

Parts of the city had ground to a halt as thousands of buildings were swamped, sparking power outages and disrupting commuter trains.

Jakarta, a sprawling city beleaguered by massive traffic jams and poor infrastructure, is prone to flooding during the annual wet season.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo last year unveiled plans to relocate the capital to an as yet unbuilt city on Borneo island.