Indonesia floods: Death toll rises to 43 in Jakarta, several missing

Death tolls from floods in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta rose to 43 on Friday as rescuers found more bodies amid receding floodwaters, disaster officials said. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said that the casualties also included people who had been drowned or electrocuted since rivers broke their banks on Wednesday due to record-breaking rainfall throughout New Year's Eve. 

Three died of hypothermia

Wibowo also said that three elderly people died of hypothermia and about 397,000 people sought refuge in shelters across the greater metropolitan area as at their peak floodwaters reached as high as 6 meters in places. Floodwaters started receding in some parts of the city on Thursday evening, enabling residents to return to their homes. The areas which have been retrieved are filled with garbage and rubble. Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma domestic airport also reopened on Thursday and electricity returned to many parts of the city. Nearly 20,000 passengers had been affected by the airport’s closure. 

Read: Indonesia Flood Rescuers Hunt For Missing After 43 Killed

Read: Indonesia Flood Evacuees Wait At Temporary Shelter

Dwikorita Karnawati, the head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency warned the people of more downpours in the coming days adding that the potential for extreme rainfall will continue until next month across Indonesia. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government on Friday kicked off cloud seeding in an attempt to divert rain clouds from reaching greater Jakarta. Monsoon rains and rising river waters submerged at least 182 neighbourhoods in greater Jakarta. The floodwaters have also caused landslides in Bogor and Depok districts as well as in Lebak which has buried a dozen people.  

Read: Four Dead, Thousands Caught In Flooding In Indonesia's Capital

Read: Indonesia Floods Leave Two Dozen Dead, Several Missing: Official

Meanwhile, rescuers mounted a desperate search for those missing after flash floods and landslides sparked by torrential rains killed at least 43 people across the Jakarta region, leaving whole districts underwater and thousands homeless. Around a dozen people were still unaccounted for after record rains that started on New Year's Eve pounded the capital and left swathes of the megalopolis, home to some 30 million, a wasteland of overturned cars and damaged buildings.