Soldiers deployed to help Indonesia flood victims as death toll reaches 9

PanARMENIAN.Net - Authorities were working Friday, January 18 to repair a dike that collapsed amid torrential rains that have swamped the Indonesian capital, while thousands of police and soldiers worked to help victims of the flooding that has taken nine lives, AP reported.

Police deployed at least 40 rubber boats, along with those from the army, to help evacuate or bring supplies to people still trapped by the floodwaters that have inundated much of the city of 14 million people since Wednesday, said Jakarta Police Spokesman Col. Rikwanto. Elsewhere, hundreds of soldiers were deployed to repair a collapsed canal dike that let floodwater pour into parts of downtown Jakarta.

Rikwanto said the current death toll of nine did not include three people who were reportedly swept into the basement of a building in central Jakarta, where a search was still underway.

The floods are the most widespread to hit the city in recent memory. Few areas were spared, from wealthy suburbs to riverside slums and gleaming downtown business blocks. Offices and schools were deserted and traffic ground to a halt. The international airport was operating normally, but travellers were finding it hard to get there.