Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Rains in western Indonesia leave 2 dead, 2,700 homes flooded

Torrential rains in Indonesia’s third largest city have caused four rivers to overflow, flooding thousands of homes and killing at least two people

Via AP news wire
Friday 04 December 2020 09:46 GMT
APTOPIX Indonesia Floods
APTOPIX Indonesia Floods (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Torrential rains in Indonesia’s third largest city caused four rivers to overflow, flooding thousands of homes and killing at least two people, officials said Friday.

The local disaster mitigation agency said rescuers were searching for six missing people, including a toddler, after the heavy rains in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province.

At least two people were found dead after being swept away by the floods, which began Thursday evening, the agency said in a statement. More than 2,700 houses were flooded in the city, which has about 2.9 million people, forcing authorities to cut off electricity and water supplies, it said.

On Friday, rescuers took 181 people to temporary shelters after floodwaters reached as high as 5 meters (16 feet) in several places.

Floods and landslides are common in Indonesia during the rainy season.

Severe flooding and landslides that hit greater Jakarta early this year killed more than 60 people, displaced hundreds of thousands and forced an airport to close.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in