Floods paralyse Indonesian capital, heavy rains continue

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.