4 dead, thousands caught in flooding in Jakarta

(1 Jan 2020) Severe flooding hit Indonesia's capital as residents were celebrating the New Year, killing at least four people, displacing thousands and forcing the closure of a domestic airport. Tens of thousands of revellers in Jakarta were soaked by torrential rains as they waited for New Year’s Eve fireworks. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said Wednesday that monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged at least 90 neighbourhoods. Wibowo said the dead included a 16-year-old high school student who was electrocuted while more than 19,000 people were in temporary shelters after floodwaters reached up to 3 metres (10 feet) in several places. Television footage and photos released by the agency showed dozens of cars floating in muddy waters while soldiers and rescuers in rubber boats were struggling to evacuate children and the elderly who were holding out on the roofs of their squalid houses. The floods inundated thousands of homes and buildings in poor and wealthy districts alike, forcing authorities to cut off electricity and water supplies and paralysing transport networks, Wibowo said. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...