At least five people were killed and three others went missing during floods that have crippled much of Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta, a disaster agency official said on February 26.

Indonesia flooding (Photo: AFP)

Nearly 20,000 people were forced to flee home during the floods triggered by torrential rains a day earlier, spokesman for Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Agus Wibowo said.

Some parts of the city and its nearby provinces of West Java and Banten still remains submerged by waters, he said, adding that water with the height of up to one meter is still inundating several parts of the capital and its surrounding areas.

Floods and landslides have destroyed three school buildings and one Muslim mosque as well as inundated over 800 hectares of rice fields, causing huge financial losses to farmers, he said.

Makeshift tents and posts of logistics have been set up for the affected people, and other emergency relief aids such as food and blankets sent to the scene, according to Wibowo.

To pave the way for the emergency relief efforts, a 14-day emergency was declared on February 26.

The search for the missing has been underway, the Indonesian official said. A joint rescue team has evacuated nearly 200 people, including babies and women.

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency's official Fachri Radjab said tropical Cyclone Esther in the Gulf of Carpentaria of Australia and tropical Cyclone Ferdinand in the Indian Ocean triggered heavy downpours in western Java Island, including West Java province and other parts of the country.

The agency warned of heavy downpours on February 26.

(Source: VNA)