Even though the water level has subsided, major traffic jams still choke Jalan Yos Sudarso, one of Jakarta’s main arteries. People have pitched tents and are cooking and bathing on its median strip. Some are even sleeping on the roadway itself, using mats with an underlay of plastic sheeting.

In Prumpung, East Jakarta, a number of people fled to a graveyard on high ground and are sleeping there.

It is estimated that no fewer than 350,000