| Monday, February 05, 2007 |
| Health alert in Jakarta, Indonesia following floods |
Following days of flooding, over 50,000 residents in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta have sought treatment for conditions ranging from coughs to diarrhoea.
Indonesia's Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari told reporters that the authorities were on alert for outbreaks of more serious cases of diarrhoea or diseases such as typhoid, cholera and measles.
The flooding has displaced about 340,000 people and killed nearly 30 others.
Water in parts of Jakarta, the tropical city of nine million people, has risen up to 4 metres (13 feet), causing blackouts, cutting telephone lines and blocking key roads.
Indonesia regularly suffers floods during the rainy season, but the devastation in recent days has been the worst in five years. Indonesia's meteorology officials have warned that Jakarta could suffer heavy rains until the end of February.
After heavy overnight rains, there was sunshine in the capital on Monday. However, the meteorology officials have warned of downpours with fluctuating intensity.
Floods in the city can often spring up in one area and recede in another as water from rain in upstream areas such as Bogor feeds into rivers criss-crossing Jakarta city.
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said people in areas in danger of flooding must evacuate. He brushed aside criticism of his administration's handling of the crisis, saying "this is a natural phenomenon that happens once every five years, like in 2002, and may happen again five years from now. What is important is how we minimise the losses."
Piped water is not available in several parts of Jakarta. Many residential areas and major roads in West and North Jakarta are flooded, resulting in huge traffic jams.Labels: Health |
| posted by a correspondent @ 9:54 PM |
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