INDONESIA:At least 29 people have been killed and 340,000 left homeless in a series of floods that inundated Jakarta after rivers and canals burst their banks
The surges of muddy, polluted water, which rose to a depth of four metres (13ft) in places, stranded many residents in the upper floors of their houses, cut off from fresh water and electricity.
Officials said the deluge, the worst since 2002 when 40 people were killed, affected as much as 40 per cent of the city. The floods came after days of torrential rain, with weathermen offering little hope of respite from the downpours for another two weeks.
Rescuers used everything from rubber dinghies to horse-drawn carts in an effort to get those stranded by the rising waters to safety, though some residents insisted on staying to protect their belongings.
In some neighbourhoods army helicopters dropped supplies, while medical teams in boats were dispatched to the worst-affected areas to treat the ill and injured. Two hospitals had to move patients to the safety of upper floors. Angry residents criticised the city's lack of preparation for the flooding - which occurs nearly every year, though not on such a massive scale.
Many families were forced to find their own way to safety using any means at their disposal.
Some used makeshift rafts while others had no choice but to wade through the filthy chest-high waters, leading to fears of infection in a city already suffering a dengue fever outbreak.
Police said those who had been killed since the rains began falling last Wednesday had either been sucked under in the powerful currents, been electrocuted when they came in contact with live electricity lines, or had fallen ill.
Jakarta's wealthier residents from affected suburbs checked into hotels across the city of 10 million people. But in one area those less well-off were forced to seek refuge in a cemetery.
The floodwater forced the closure of a number of key roads running through the low-lying city, which was built on a swamp, while rail services were cancelled or delayed making it impossible for many to get to work.
- ( Guardian service)