JAKARTA: The death toll from floods that hit Indonesia’s capital region jumped to 18, authorities said on Thursday, as torrential rains on New Year’s Eve caused landslides and left vast swathes of the megalopolis submerged. “We’re still updating the figures from various sources and there is a possibility that the toll could increase,” National disaster agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said Thursday. Those killed died from drowning, hypothermia and being covered by landslides, while one 16-year-old boy was electrocuted by a power line. The disaster marked Jakarta’s worst flooding since 2013 when several dozen people were killed after the city was inundated by monsoon rains. Authorities said some 31,000 people had been evacuated, but that figure did not include residents in Jakarta’s satellite cities.

Source: Manila Times January 02, 2020 03:21 UTC