Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono chaired a plenary cabinet meeting to discuss three important issues - economic growth, upcoming elections and ongoing natural disasters such as floods that currently hit parts of Indonesia, here on Thursday.

The cabinet meeting was held at 10 a.m. local time and was attended by Vice President Boediono, and a number of ministers.

Indonesia will hold legislative elections on April 9 and presidential elections on July 9, 2014.

In the ongoing rainy season, several provinces such as Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra and Kalimantan as well as Jakarta have been hit by floods.

The floods in Jakarta were triggered by torrential rains on Sunday and Monday, killing at least four people and forcing 1,545 people to flee their homes to take shelter in refugee camps.

"The flood waters have risen up to two meters in some areas, following incessant rains in the last two days," the Regional Disaster Control Agency (BPBD) spokesman Bambang Surya Saputra stated recently.

Based on the agencys flood impact data, the floods inundated around 7,367 houses affecting 24,269 people in Jakarta, and at least 5,125 evacuees were accommodated in 35 shelters across the capital.

The height of flood waters varied in several places. The flood waters reportedly rose four meters in the Cawang sub-district, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.

The four worst affected areas in East Jakarta are Cawang, Cililitan, Bidara China, and Kampung Melayu.

In Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, at least 1,508 homes were inundated with floods, forcing 212 out of the 3,427 residents to evacuate.

In Cawang, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, the flood water reached 50-400 cm, inundating a total of 1,944 homes with 6,293 inhabitants and displacing at least 3,446 people from their homes.

Makeshift kitchens have been set up in five locations in Jakarta to serve the evacuees from the floods that hit the city on Monday. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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