Nine dead after Indonesian capital hit by New Year flooding

Flash floods inundated swathes of Indonesia's capital and nearby towns on the first day of the New Year after torrential rainfall overnight, killing at least nine people and forcing thousands of people to evacuate, authorities said on Wednesday.

"As of 4 pm today, there are 19,079 displaced residents who have been evacuated at temporary shelters throughout Jakarta," city governor Anies Baswedan told a news conference.

"The rain in Jakarta has stopped, now we are waiting for the water to recede".

Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said at least nine people had died in flash floods and landslides triggered by the rain in Jakarta and nearby towns.

Most of the deaths were due to hypothermia, though one was a teenager who was electrocuted by a power line, disaster mitigation agency spokesman Agus Wibobo said.

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 metres in several places.

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

The floods inundated thousands of homes and buildings in poor and wealthy districts alike, forcing authorities to cut off electricity and water supplies and paralysing transport networks, Wibowo said.

Director-General of Civil Aviation Polana Pramesti said the floods also submerged the runway at Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusumah domestic airport, prompting authorities to close it and stranding some 19,000 passengers.

Flooding also highlighted Indonesia's infrastructure problems as it tries to attract foreign investment.

Jakarta is home to 10 million people, or 30 million including those in its greater metropolitan area. It is prone to earthquakes and flooding and is rapidly sinking due to uncontrolled extraction of ground water. 

Congestion is also estimated to cost the economy $6.5 billion a year.

President Joko Widodo announced in August that the capital will move to a site in sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on Borneo island, known for rainforests and orangutans.