Thousands of homes flooded in Jakarta

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Thousands of homes flooded in Jakarta

21 Feb 2017 at 11:51

WRITER: ASSOCIATED PRESS

A woman wades through floodwater in Jatinegara district, Jakarta, on Feb 16 (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)

JAKARTA -- Torrential rains in the Indonesian capital have overwhelmed drains and flooded roads and thousands of homes.

The disaster mitigation agency said Tuesday that more than 50 areas were flooded in Jakarta, with waters up to 1.5 metres high in East Jakarta.

It said the city's drains could not accommodate the runoff and rivers had also overflowed.

Floods in 2013 forced killed more than two dozen people in Jakarta and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

The city, which has about 30 million people in its greater metropolitan area, says it has reduced the number of flood prone areas since then by dredging rubbish-filled rivers and other measures.

Floods and deadly landslides are a fact of life for Indonesians during the wet season, with other major cities suffering repeated flooding.

Earlier this month, up to 40,000 people were caught in severe flooding following days of torrential rain in central Indonesia and 13 people were killed in landslides on the resort island of Bali.