Floods bring more misery to Jakarta amid disease fears

JAKARTA – Overnight downpours sent storm waters coursing back into some low-lying areas of Indonesia’s capital yesterday, as authorities warned of the threat of diseases and anger mounted at the government’s response to the disaster that has killed at least 36 people.

Authorities said flooding had receded in some areas of Jakarta, allowing more than 115 000 people to return home. However, about 220 000 people remained in temporary shelters, and electricity and water supplies have been cut to much of the city of 12 million people.Rains also triggered a landslide in a village some 160 kilometres west of the capital that killed an additional six people, including a young boy, said Banten Police Chief Brigadier General Timur Pradopo.In the capital, medical officials said there were shortages of baby food, clean water and medicine, as well as reports of widespread skin diseases and other hygiene-related problems.”We ran out of medicine yesterday,” said Nuraini, a military doctor overseeing local relief efforts in the Central Jakarta district.”Most people have diarrhoea and are sick after being in the water for too long.”Like many Indonesians, Nuraini uses a single name.Mohammed Syaifudin, 31, said he swam through 2,5 – metre – deep floodwaters outside his house to get supplies and medicine for his wife, son and parents who have moved upstairs.”I called my relatives for help, but their homes were flooded too,” he said.”We want to leave, but don’t know where to go.”As authorities warned of the threat of dysentery and cholera, anger mounted at the government’s response to the floods, which burst riverbanks throughout the city Thursday and turned scores of districts, rich and poor alike, into lakes of debris and sewage.”We live in modern times.People should have been warned,” said Stefanus Lamury, who lives in a flooded residential area near the centre of Jakarta.”No one should have died because of this.”Soldiers in boats delivered instant noodles and rice to those who chose to stay on the upper floors of their homes, refusing to evacuate due to fears of looting, said army Capt.Tohar.Most who fled their homes are staying at mosques, schools or government buildings, sleeping on floors with little access to restrooms.Communal kitchens have been set up, but many have complained of receiving little food and being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of needy.Nampa-APHowever, about 220 000 people remained in temporary shelters, and electricity and water supplies have been cut to much of the city of 12 million people.Rains also triggered a landslide in a village some 160 kilometres west of the capital that killed an additional six people, including a young boy, said Banten Police Chief Brigadier General Timur Pradopo.In the capital, medical officials said there were shortages of baby food, clean water and medicine, as well as reports of widespread skin diseases and other hygiene-related problems.”We ran out of medicine yesterday,” said Nuraini, a military doctor overseeing local relief efforts in the Central Jakarta district.”Most people have diarrhoea and are sick after being in the water for too long.”Like many Indonesians, Nuraini uses a single name.Mohammed Syaifudin, 31, said he swam through 2,5 – metre – deep floodwaters outside his house to get supplies and medicine for his wife, son and parents who have moved upstairs.”I called my relatives for help, but their homes were flooded too,” he said.”We want to leave, but don’t know where to go.”As authorities warned of the threat of dysentery and cholera, anger mounted at the government’s response to the floods, which burst riverbanks throughout the city Thursday and turned scores of districts, rich and poor alike, into lakes of debris and sewage.”We live in modern times.People should have been warned,” said Stefanus Lamury, who lives in a flooded residential area near the centre of Jakarta.”No one should have died because of this.”Soldiers in boats delivered instant noodles and rice to those who chose to stay on the upper floors of their homes, refusing to evacuate due to fears of looting, said army Capt.Tohar.Most who fled their homes are staying at mosques, schools or government buildings, sleeping on floors with little access to restrooms.Communal kitchens have been set up, but many have complained of receiving little food and being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of needy.Nampa-AP