An empty lot the size of a badminton court is no longer filled with loud voices of children playing on the field. Kids no longer play football or ride their bicycles there. They are told not to leave the house. "In the past everyone played there," said Sugiyono, head of RT 11/03 in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, where the empty lot is located.

Nearly every day the houses of these residentswhose village is located not far from the Krukut Riverare flooded