Jakarta flooded again after weekend rainfall

Sunday, February 23, 2014, 10:44 AM -

Flooding in Indonesia forced thousands out of their homes on Saturday.

It has been a very difficult month and a half for the country, as rain-triggered floods and landslides left more than 50 people dead and at least 100,000 people displaced. Flood warnings were issued once again on Saturday as heavy rainfall upstream of Jakarta caused the water level at floodgates to reach dangerous levels, 70 centimeters higher than normal.

Many of those affected recently returned home only to be sent back to the refugee camps after the recent events.

One of the hardest hit areas was Banten. Thousands of homes were damaged as water poured into the community.

Officials are still hard at work, assisting in evacuations, handing out food and clean water and setting up safe areas for the growing number of affected people.

Military and police forces are also out on the streets helping those in need.

A rough year 

It was rough start for 2014. Flooding displaced 45,000 people mid-January and destroyed schools, buildings and homes in the country's capital. The damage was calculated to be about $80 million.

The relatively dry weather in early February offered a respite to Indonesia allowing many to return to their damaged homes, but it seems that the situation might be worsening.

Flooding is a huge and annual problem for the country. In fact, improving the situation for residents was one of the main political key points during the gubernatorial election in 2012.