Flash floods, landslides in Indonesian capital kill 53

At least 53 people are dead in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta after torrential rain triggered landslides and flash floods.

Monsoon rains and rising rivers buried several people under tons of mud and flooded a dozen districts in the greater Jakarta area, according to The Associated Press.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said the fatalities included people who were drowned or electrocuted after rivers broke their banks. Three elderly people also died of hypothermia.

The deaths are a result of the worst flooding Indonesia has seen since 2007 when 80 people were killed. The number of fatalities is expected to rise as rescuers sift through the wreckage.

While waters have receded in some districts, conditions continue to worsen in narrow riverside alleys often inhabited by the area’s poor. 

Government data reviewed by the AP showed roughly 173,000 people are still stuck in emergency shelters, unable to return home.

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency warned that the city would be hit with more downpours in the coming days, and that extreme rainfall will continue across the country for the rest of the month.