At least two people were killed and eight are missing after torrential rains hit Indonesia’s Capital Jakarta, triggering floods and landslides, AP reported on Tuesday. Landslides in areas along the hilly resort town of Puncak blocked the main road that connects the area to Jakarta.
Jakarta governor said thousands of residents have been evacuated and nearly 6,500 people were displaced by floods in parts of the Indonesian Capital, Reuters reported. “We are making sure that those evacuees receive aid,” Anies Baswedan said. Rescue teams include the police and military personnel.
However, a lot of residents refused to evacuate, The Strait Times reported. “They opted to stay at their house, having moved their belongings to the upper floor of their house,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson of the National Disaster Management Agency, said.
Nugroho told AP that Jakarta had raised its flood alert to the highest level. Authorities were forced to release water from a reservoir upstream in Bogor after water levels prompted the highest alert, Reuters reported. However, the water levels of rivers have now dropped.
In 2007, more than 50 people were killed in one of the deadliest floods in Jakarta.
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