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Indonesia's Capital Reels from Flooding; 53 Dead

Associated Press

   JAKARTA, INDONESIA - The death toll from floods in and around
   Indonesia's capital rose to 53Saturday as rescuers found more bodies
   amid receding floodwaters, disaster officials said.

   Monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged a dozen districts in greater
   Jakarta and caused landslides in the Bogor and Depok districts on the
   city's outskirts as well as in neighboring Lebak, where a dozen people
   were buried.

   National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said the
   fatalities also included those who had drowned or been electrocuted
   since rivers broke their banks early Wednesday after torrential rains
   throughout New Year's Eve. Three elderly people died of hypothermia.

   It was the worst flooding since 2007, when 80 people were killed when
   Jakarta was inundated by monsoon rains for 10 days.

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