Floods paralyse Indonesian capital, heavy rains continue
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Indonesians wade through floods in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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In this photo released by Presidential Secretariat, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, centre, talks with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, left, as they inspect the flooded palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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Vendors running their businesses as usual despite floodwaters that inundated the Cipulir textile market in Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Workers wade through a flooded street in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, Jan 17, 2013. Heavy monsoon rains triggered severe flooding in large swathes of the Indonesian capital on Thursday, with many government offices and businesses forced to closed because staff could not get to work. -- PHOTO: AP
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Two men walk through a fence to cross a flooded road in Jakarta on Jan 16, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Indonesians push their motorcycles through a flooded street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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Residents wade through a flooded main street in Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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An Indonesian woman wades through a flooded main street in Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Residents wade through a flooded street in downtown Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Traffic crawls slowly through floodwaters down a main street in Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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This general view shows Sudirman street, one of the main streets in Jakarta, flooded and causing traffic chaos on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Indonesian motorists navigate through a flooded main street in Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
Indonesians wade through floods in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
In this photo released by Presidential Secretariat, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, centre, talks with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, left, as they inspect the flooded palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
Vendors running their businesses as usual despite floodwaters that inundated the Cipulir textile market in Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
Workers wade through a flooded street in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, Jan 17, 2013. Heavy monsoon rains triggered severe flooding in large swathes of the Indonesian capital on Thursday, with many government offices and businesses forced to closed because staff could not get to work. -- PHOTO: AP
Two men walk through a fence to cross a flooded road in Jakarta on Jan 16, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Indonesians push their motorcycles through a flooded street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
Residents wade through a flooded main street in Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
An Indonesian woman wades through a flooded main street in Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
Residents wade through a flooded street in downtown Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
Traffic crawls slowly through floodwaters down a main street in Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
This general view shows Sudirman street, one of the main streets in Jakarta, flooded and causing traffic chaos on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
Indonesian motorists navigate through a flooded main street in Jakarta on Jan 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
JAKARTA (REUTERS) - Heavy monsoon rains triggered severe flooding in large swathes of the Indonesian capital on Thursday, with many government offices and businesses forced to closed because staff could not get to work.
Weather officials warned the rains could get worse over the next few days and media reports said that thousands of people in Jakarta and its satellite cities had been forced to leave their homes because of the torrential downpours this week.
"For the next two or three days, it is estimated that there may be increasing activity of the Asian Monsoon which could increase weather activity in southern Sumatra and Java," said Soepriyo, an official at the Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency.
An estimated more than 100mm of rain had fallen overnight in the capital. This year's rainy season has brought some of the heaviest downpours for five years.
