Jakarta Death Toll At Least 19; Flooding Worsened By Garbage-Clogged Rivers In A Sinking City
Flash floods triggered by the heaviest rains ever recorded in Jakarta wreaked havoc across the Indonesian capital and its satellite cities on the first day of the new year. Authorities have attributed much of the damage from the disaster, in which at least 19 people have died, to years of environmental degradation.
The downpour began on the night of Dec. 31 and continued into the following morning, causing rivers to spill over and cause widespread flooding across Greater Jakarta. The flooding has displaced more than 30,000 people, cut off electricity and piped water, severed a number of roads, and shut down one of the city’s two airports. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency, known as the BNPB, says 19 people have died in the disaster as of Jan. 2, although the minister of social affairs has reportedly put the death toll at 21. Some of the reported deaths were caused by drowning, landslides, electrocution and hypothermia.
Authorities have dispatched rescue teams to locations where floodwaters were reported as high as 2 meters (6 feet).
Speaking to reporters in Jakarta on Jan. 2, President Joko Widodo blamed a combination of environmental damage and waste dumping in rivers for the disaster. On his Twitter account, the president also cited delays in flood control infrastructure projects, noting that some of the projects had been held up since 2017 due to land acquisition issues.
EDIT
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/01/environmental-damage-exacerbates-jakarta-flooding-amid-record-rainfall/
