In Jakarta, Death Toll Hits 80 As Cleanup Begins From Massive Floods - AP

AKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Tens of thousands of people in Indonesia's flood-hit capital returned to their homes for the first time Saturday to clear away rancid mud and debris, as the number of people killed climbed to 80. Rivers have overflowed in some parts of the sprawling city, much of which remains inundated following the worst floods in recent memory, and the government sought to subdue mounting anger at what many believe should have been a preventable disaster.

Despite a building boom, there has been little infrastructure development since the Asian economic crisis battered the world's fourth-most-populous nation nearly a decade ago, and the sprawling capital of 12 million has been particularly neglected.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said after surveying the flooded landscape from the air Saturday that nearly US$300 million would be spent to develop flood channels across the capital's eastern and western parts.

The government was also planning a water pump development project and would ban construction of homes, estates or offices that interfered with man-made lakes or reservoirs, other officials said, vowing "to end flooding in Jakarta by 2009."

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