The number of torrential deaths in Jakarta has risen to 53 and 175,000 have been made homeless

Arab Weather - The Indonesian authorities said that about 175,000 people are still displaced in the capital, Jakarta and neighboring cities, after torrential torrents and landslides killed at least 53 people amid torrential rains since the start of the official records.

"The death toll has risen to 53 and one person is missing," said Agus Weibo, spokesman for the National Agency for Disaster Reduction and Mitigation.

The agency's data showed that about 175,000 remaining residents were evacuated from their homes on Saturday after the fiercest flood in years caused chaos in parts of the largest city in southeast Asia, with train lines disrupted and power cuts in some areas.

Sections of Jakarta and nearby cities were inundated after torrential rains on December 31 and during the early hours of the new year.

The Meteorological, Climate and Geophysical Agency said on Friday that the rains that fell at the beginning of this year were “one of the most intense” since the records began in 1866.

The agency added that climate change increased the risk of bad weather and warned that heavy rains could continue until mid-February and that the period from January 11 to 15 is expected to be the most severe.

Source: Reuters