Indonesia's flood of misery

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- In a low-lying riverside district of the capital, dead chickens floated in the same filthy flood waters in which women used to bathe children and wash clothes.

Men sitting on rooftops or balconies dangled hooks in the debris-filled water for fish amid the stench of raw sewage. An elderly woman called out to rescuers for food and water from her second-floor balcony.

Boys scavenged plastic bags and other recyclable waste to sell for a few pennies.

A boat ride with emergency workers yesterday revealed the hardships residents are suffering five days after torrential rains unleashed flood waters that have killed 44 people and chased hundreds of thousands from their homes in this city of 12 million.

While some parts of Jakarta began drying out under grey skies, water is still metres deep in low-lying areas along river banks where tens of thousands of the city's poorest live in cluttered allies.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/World/2007/02/07/3549209-sun.html