Floods in Indonesia capital paralyse parts of city, cut power

Flooding caused by torrential rain paralysed large parts of Indonesia’s capital on Tuesday, as major streets were inundated with murky, brown flood water and power supplies cut in certain parts of the city.

Indonesia’s weather agency linked the rains to tropical cyclones in Australia and in the Indian ocean that had caused bad weather across the islands of Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara. The agency also warned of high waves in the seas south of Java.

Flooding was particularly severe in the Bekasi area west of the capital, though big swathes of the low-lying city were also badly affected, Reuters reported.

Jakarta police, via its Instagram account, warned of road closures due to flooding and train services also suffered major disruption.

Videos and photos posted by Jakarta police showed flooded street in an industrial area in East Jakarta with lines of halted trucks and scores of motorcycles.

Indonesian state electricity utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) said in a statement that electricity was shut off to 326 substations to ensure safety.

Jakarta is prone to flooding and at the start of the year the city suffered some of the heaviest rains since records begun, causing floods that killed more than 60 people and displaced around 175,000 people.