New Year's Eve flooding kills four in Jakarta

Thousands more forced from their homes after torrential rains hit Indonesia's capital

A truck drives through a flooded road at Jatibening on the outskirt of Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. Severe flooding hit Indonesia's capital just after residents celebrating New Year's Eve, forcing a closure of an airport and thousands of inhabitants to flee their flooded homes. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
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At least four people died in severe flooding that hit Indonesia's capital as residents were waiting to welcome the new year, and thousands were forced from their homes as water levels rose as high as three metres in some areas.

The floods caused by torrential rains on New Year's Eve also closed a domestic airport, leaving thousands of travellers stranded.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said the monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged at least 90 districts.

The dead included a 16-year-old student who was electrocuted, he said. More than 19,000 people were in temporary shelters.

Television footage and photographs released by the agency showed dozens of cars floating in muddy waters while soldiers and rescuers in rubber boats struggled to reach children and the elderly stranded on the rooftops.

The floods inundated thousands of homes and buildings in poor and wealthy districts alike, forcing authorities to cut off electricity and water supply and paralysing transport networks, Mr Wibowo said.

Director General of Civil Aviation Polana Pramesti said the floods also submerged the runway at Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusumah domestic airport, prompting authorities to close it and stranding some 19,000 passengers.

The flooding highlighted Indonesia's infrastructure problems as it tries to attract foreign investment.

Jakarta is home to 10 million people, or 30m including those in its greater metropolitan area. It is prone to earthquakes and flooding and is rapidly sinking due to uncontrolled extraction of groundwater.

Congestion is also estimated to cost the economy $6.5 billion (Dh23.8bn) a year.

President Joko Widodo announced in August that the capital would be moved to a site in sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on Borneo island, known for rainforests and orangutans.