Flood and land sliding in Indonesia, 21 casualties, thousands affected

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on Thursday after flash floods and landslides in the area killed up to 21 people, with more heavy rain forecast, authorities said.

The flooding, among the deadliest in years, caused chaos in parts of Southeast Asia’s biggest city with train lines blocked and power outages in some areas. Swathes of Jakarta and nearby towns were inundated after heavy rain fell on Dec. 31 and into the early hours of New Year’s Day.

Social affairs ministry spokesman said in a message to Reuters that the death toll had now reached 21, while the disaster mitigation agency said it was 19.

As of Thursday, over 62,000 people were evacuated in Jakarta alone, disaster mitigation agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said, twice as many as a day earlier.