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4 Dead, Thousands Displaced in Flooding in Indonesia's Capital

Associated Press

   JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Severe flooding hit Indonesia's capital as
   residents were celebrating New Year's, killing at least four people,
   displacing thousands and forcing the closure of a domestic airport.

   Tens of thousands of revelers in Jakarta were soaked by torrential
   rains as they waited for New Year's Eve fireworks.

   National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said
   Wednesday that monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged at least 90
   neighborhoods.

   Wibowo said the dead included a 16-year-old high school student who was
   electrocuted while more than 19,000 people were in temporary shelters
   after floodwaters reached up to 3 meters (10 feet) in several places.

   Television footage and photos released by the agency showed dozens of
   cars floating in muddy water while soldiers and rescuers in rubber
   boats were struggling to evacuate children and the elderly who were
   holding on the roofs of their squalid houses.