Floods claim 6 lives as thousands homeless

Floods claim 6 lives as thousands homeless

JAKARTA (JP): At least 11 people have been reported missing in
the floods that have hit major parts of the capital city since
last week.

"We have received reports from relatives of the 11 missing
persons since the heavy floods started, and some of them have
been found dead," Edwin, a staff of the Jatibaru Flood Control
Center, said here yesterday.

The city authorities say that the current floods are the worst
since 1976.

The latest data at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital
revealed that there were already six corpses, believed to be
victims of the floods, at the state-owned hospital.

The six bodies were found on Sunday when the floods submerged
many parts of the city, following the heavy downpour here and
over several higher-lying surrounding towns, such as Depok and
Bogor.

These six were identified as Aisyah, 60, Dedi Sukarta, 23,
Hotma Sitompul, 22, Santi, 35, Hari Basuki, 21, and a girl in her
early teens, whose identity is unknown.

Elderly Aisyah was found on the roof of her house at Bukit
Duri, South Jakarta, while the decomposed body of the
unidentified girl was found by passers-by near the flood area in
Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

The remaining four were found at the floodgates in Tanah Abang
and Kampung Melayu as the water level went down slightly
yesterday morning.

On Sunday, Kuseini Budiantoro, head of the city public order
office, said that two victims, who had apparently drowned on
Thursday, were found by a search and rescue team on Saturday
night at the Ciliwung floodgate in Central Jakarta.

The floods began coursing through low-lying areas of Jakarta
on Wednesday, when relentless torrential rains caused rivers to
break their banks and swell to dangerous levels.

By last night, the level of water had dropped sharply in most
areas, but weather officials estimated that heavy rain would hit
the city and all nearby areas again before long.

The water level at Pulomas, Kebon Kelapa, Kayu Putih and the
Pulogadung areas, for instance, went down to between 40 and 60
centimeters from over one meter during the previous days.

At Bidaracina and Cawang, the level remained at three meters.

Thousands of people, who had been forced to flee their homes
to stay in makeshift tents and shacks, went back home yesterday
only to see their empty, muddy houses.

"Material things are nothing to us," said Erwin Tambunan, a
resident at Kalibata in South Jakarta.

"The important thing is that the Almighty Allah has saved my
life," said Erwin, who was almost drowned after trying to
evacuate his relatives in the wee hours of Sunday.

Should the water level keep on going down more fatalities will
be found at floodgates, officials said.

Last night thousands of people, whose houses and materials had
been swept away by the floods, were still in improvised
accommodation.

Many schools in north and south Jakarta remained closed.

The National Red Cross and a number of state and privately-
owned institutions have distributed food, medicine and clothes to
the victims.

Medical personnel have yet to declare whether certain
diseases, such as diarrhea, have been found in the affected
areas.

Police sources said yesterday that a number of people, who
claimed to be victims of the flood, plan to stage a protest rally
at the related ministries today.

In a related development, President Soeharto made a 40-minute
air tour over the city yesterday afternoon to observe the areas
hit hardest by flood.

Flying in a Puma helicopter, the President inspected Tanah
Abang area in Central Jakarta, Kampung Melayu, Cawang Flyover,
both and the city main interchange, all in East Jakarta.

"I saw from above that the flooding was caused by rain,
overflowing rivers running from Bogor, which coincided with high
tides from the sea," said Soeharto after the inspection.

Besides that, Soeharto said, the large number of houses built
along the river banks, had narrowed the waterway. He said the
Public Works Ministry is trying to build canals linked to nearby
rivers.

"In the future the problem of such flooding can be overcome,"
he said.

On his tour, the President was accompanied by Minister of
Public Works Radinal Moochtar, Jakarta Military Commander Maj.
Gen. Wiranto and the city Vice Governor for Administrative
Affairs, Idroes.

Soeharto urged residents who live by the river banks to leave
these sites, if they want to be safe.

"You have to make some sacrifices, of course, but the local
authorities will try to solve the problem," said the President.
(team)

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