More rains hit flood-stricken Indonesian capital

JAKARTA, Feb 8 (Reuters) - More heavy rains struck Indonesia's capital on Thursday, hampering clean-up efforts and piling on misery for hundreds of thousands of people camping under make-shift shelters after days of floods.

However, an official at the Jakarta Flood Crisis centre said the latest flooding was less widespread than in the past week.

The official, Kartawi, added that water levels at sluice gates controlling flows into the largely flat, low-lying city had returned to normal in all cases but one.

The death toll from the floods, Jakarta's worst for at least five years, remained at about 50, the official said, with around 230,000 still displaced.

In the Prumtung cemetery in east Jakarta, hundreds of people were living under tents made of plastic next to gravestones after their homes were flooded, relying on food handouts.

"I've already been here for seven days with four children," said Kusmiah, who uses just one name.

With so many displaced since the floods started late last week, there are concerns about disease and sanitation in the city and its suburbs, home to an estimated 14 million people.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pledged to maintain supplies of food and medicine to those affected.

"The overall situation is improving, even though we still expect that the rain will return in Jakarta," he told a news conference.

The heavy overnight rains largely subsided in the capital on Thursday, but the meteorology agency said there could be more rains in the next few days.

Officials and green groups have blamed excessive construction in Jakarta's water catchment areas for making the floods worse.

DESPERATE TO GO HOME

In Kampung Melayu, one of the worst-hit areas, the floods had receded despite the latest rain, although water remained more than 1 metre (3 ft) deep in some places, an official said.

"I still worry that the house floods whenever it rains," resident Saniah told Reuters Television, as she tried to clean her kitchen utensils in water collected after recent rain.

The previous flood disaster in 2002 saw widespread looting, but National Police Chief General Sutanto said there had been no repeat this time and he had dispatched 14,000 police officers to flood-hit areas, Antara news agency reported.

Officials have also been on alert for disease outbreaks. So far, people mainly appear to have been suffering diarrhoea, respiratory infections and skin diseases.

Losses at manufacturing firms in Jakarta could top 1 trillion rupiah ($110.7 million) due to the floods, Sofyan Wanandi of the Indonesian Employers Association told the Jakarta Post newspaper.

Insurance firms may face claims of over $200 million from the floods as the damage is seen to be worse than from floods in the city in 2002, a top industry official said.

"Around 75 percent of the claims may come from insurance policies for commercial buildings like hotels, shopping centres, malls, banks or factories," Frans Sahusilawane, the head of the association of Indonesian non-life insurance firms (AAUI) said.

Bambang Trisulo, the head of Indonesia's Automotive Industry Association, said the floods were delaying output and distribution, although the impact should be short-term.

Most of Indonesia's auto makers have their factories in greater Jakarta area.

Mozambique PM issues flood warning amid evacuation appeal

MAPUTO (AFP) - Mozambican Prime Minister Luisa Diogo has warned that torrential rains could wreak more havoc than heavy floods in 2001 when nearly 1,000 people died, as authorities urged people to start evacuating.

"It's really a dramatic situation and there is a possibility of emergency," Diogo told reporters in Maputo, adding that the swelling waters of the Zambezi river in the centre of the country were of particular concern.

"If the Zambezi river continues growing, the situation can be worse than in 2001. Because, as opposed to 2001, the situation is happening when the rainy season is not yet at its peak."

Incessant downpours have lashed Mozambique since the start of the year, claiming 29 lives, flooding vast swathes of the coastal nation and rendering more than 46,000 homeless.

Authorities in the central town of Tete, bearing the brunt of the flash floods, urged people living along the banks of the Zambezi to leave their homes but the call went largely unheeded, residents told AFP by telephone Thursday.

Meanwhile, the National Water Directorate said the water levels on the Zambezi were flowing above the danger level, forcing the management of the giant Cahora Bassa dam to increase the outflow of water to prevent the dam from bursting.

Cahora Bassa, built during Portuguese colonial rule, is one of Africa's largest hydroelectric projects.

Located on the Zambezi River, the dam has created a 2,000-square-kilometre (800-square-mile) artifical lake which stretches to the point where the borders of Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe converge. It produces some 2,000 megawatts of power annually.

The national water directorate said the dam's management had started discharging more than 6,000 litres of water per minute from Wednesday, which is higher than the level of discharge during the devastating 2001 floods.

According to the National Institute of Calamities Management, 29 people have died thus far in flash flooding or from electrocution and about 46,500 people have seen their homes washed away.

Amarildo Romao, a 31-year-old journalist living in flood-washed Tete, told AFP: "The situation is very dramatic.

"It is not raining in town but there is a lot of rain coming from Zumbo," the area where the Zambezi enters Mozambique from Zambia and Zimbabwe.

"The downtown hotels are all flooded ... The wine, oil and soap factories are also partially flooded."

"People who live on islands on the Zambezi have all moved away. Their houses are also flooded."

The upper sections of Tete, where most of the residential areas are located, have been largely untouched by the rising waters.

Prime Minister Diogo meanwhile underlined that the impoverished country, which is emerging from the ashes of a 16-year civil war which ended in 1992, was better prepared to tackle floods this time around.

"There is a huge difference. In 2001, our early warning systems were not working so well. There has been a vast improvement," she said, adding the top priority for the government would be the evacuation of those living on the banks of the river.

The prime minister however said it was too early to launch a call for international help or declare a natural disaster.

Travel chaos as heavy snow hits UK

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Britain was hit by travel chaos on Thursday as much of the country was covered by a thick blanket of snow at the height of the morning rush-hour.

Hundreds of schools were closed and there were delays on trains, planes and roads.

Runways at Gatwick, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Luton and Stansted were closed for part of the morning while workers cleared the snow.

"Nearly 100 flights were cancelled," a Stansted spokeswoman said. "The runway has reopened but there is going to be a knock-on effect."

A Luton airport spokesman said there would be no departures until 12:30 p.m. or arrivals until 1:30 p.m. Passengers should check with their airline before setting off.

At Heathrow, 86 flights were cancelled, although the airport and its runways remained opened. Many flights were cancelled at London City Airport.

There were also cancellations and delays at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports.

The Met Office said many areas will receive 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) of snow, although the wintry showers will ease during the day.

The Highways Agency (HA) warned drivers to check weather forecasts and road conditions before setting out.

"If the weather is severe, don't travel unless your journey is essential," the HA said.

The agency had put 400 salt-spreading vehicles on standby and all England's motorways and major roads were treated before the snow arrived.

Birmingham City Council said all its schools were closed due to the travel disruption. Dozens more were shut in Bristol, Cheshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Staffordshire.

Network Rail said the disruption was "minimal", although there were cancellations and delays across the southeast and on services run by Virgin West Coast, Virgin Cross Country, Chiltern and Central Trains.

Eurostar trains were unaffected by the weather, a spokesman said.

But there were severe delays and closures across the London Underground system. The Bakerloo, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines were among the worst affected.

The snow will peter out during the afternoon on Thursday but temperatures will plummet overnight to as low as minus 4 degrees Celsius (24 Fahrenheit), bringing the risk of icy roads and freezing fog, the Met Office said.