Children most at risk from disease and separation in Jakarta floods
Save the Children is responding to the needs of children affected by severe flooding in Jakarta, which has forced
340,000 people to flee their homes.Torrential rains in the Indonesian capital Jakarta and its surrounding areas have caused widespread flooding, which is the worst the city has seen for five
years. The exceptionally heavy annual rains, which began late last week, have caused flood water levels to rise rapidly in the last four days, reaching over four metres in some areas. Thousands of
houses and public buildings, including 1,498 schools, have been affected. Telephone lines and electricity networks have been cut off in some parts of the city and floodwaters have blocked some major
roads and paralysed the transport system.Our team in Indonesia is working as fast as possible to reach the children and families most in need. Save the Children has sent
urgently needed relief items to Jakarta from our warehouse in Yogyakarta. The supplies include 2,000 tarpaulins to help provide temporary shelter for children and their families, and around 450 kits
containing basic household and hygiene supplies like pots and pans, soap and washing powder.We are also supporting our partner organisations in Jakarta by providing supplies of food to keep
community kitchens running in some of the worst affected areas of North and East Jakarta.Save the Children is concerned that the flooding is likely to increase the number of cases of dengue
fever – which have already been high this year – along with cases of diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections, particularly in young children.Toby Porter, Save the
Children’s Director of Emergencies, said: “Children suffer most in any emergency. In Jakarta, it is the children of poor families living in makeshift housing along the banks of the rivers
who are suffering the most. The biggest risk for these children is being exposed to deadly water-borne diseases and also being separated from their families. Save the Children launched a rapid
response to the emergency and stands ready to scale up our operation if the situation worsens.”For more information please contact the Save the Children Australia media centre:Read other
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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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