63,958 Jakartans displaced by floods

JAKARTA. Upward of 63,000 people living in Jakarta have been evacuated due to floods in the past days, Jakarta's Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) spokesman Bambang Surya Putra said on Monday.

"As of 6 a.m., 63,958 people have been evacuated to 293 locations in Jakarta," Bambang said as quoted by Antara news agency.

According to him, the worst flood occurred in East Jakarta where the water level reached between 20 centimeters and two meters. Three people died during the floods, while about 20,228 people living in the area were evacuated.

On Sunday, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) disclosed that seven people had died due to flooding in Jakarta.

BNPB data and information center head Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement made available to Antara news agency on Sunday that six dead victims were Hasan, 76; Hidayat, 35; Zulfikar, 22; Asep, 27; Fatimah, 5, and Supoyo, 44, with another victim as yet identified.

The causes of the death ranged from illness, falls, drowning to electrocution.

Meanwhile, 10,530 residents from 48 villages and 27 districts in Jakarta were displaced and were evacuated to 97 emergency areas. The BNPB has built 23 main emergency tents to help the victims and support the BPBD Jakarta.

"We’ve distributed 50 inflatable boats for the BPBD Jakarta to evacuate residents from inundated areas," Sutopo said.

According to the agency, until Monday, heavy rain would continue to affect Jakarta and its neighboring cities, including Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, particularly at night.