In flooded district of Indonesian capital, dead chickens float in water used for bathing

(AP) In a low-lying riverside district of the capital, dead chickens floated in the same filthy floodwaters that women used to bathe children and wash clothes.

Men sitting on rooftops or balconies dangled hooks in the debris-filled water for fish amid the stench of raw sewage. An elderly woman called out to rescuers for food and water from her second-floor balcony.

Boys scavenged plastic bags and other recyclable waste to sell for a few pennies.

A boat ride with emergency workers Tuesday revealed the hardships residents are suffering five days after torrential rains unleashed floodwaters that have killed at least 50 people and chased hundreds of thousands from their homes in this city of 12 million.

While some parts of Jakarta began drying out, water is still several feet deep in low-lying areas along river banks where tens of thousands of the city's poorest live in cluttered allies.

The emergency workers delivered dried noodles, rice and fresh water to residents of central Jakarta's Bendungan Hilir district, a mixed-income neighborhood. Indonesian soldiers paddled the boat past abandoned furniture, people wading in chest-high water with plastic containers balanced on their heads, and children swimming as if they were in a public pool. Some boys used a sofa cushion as a raft.

Flooding was still 8 feet deep amid the simple, two-story cinder block and brick homes. The district's main market, hospital and most houses were inundated, forcing residents to move to upper floors. The fear of their homes being looted kept many from leaving.

Indonesia's poor _ a majority in the country of 220 million people _ have borne the brunt of a recent string of natural disasters, including the 2004 Asian tsunami, which killed more than 160,000 people on Sumatra island. This month's flood, the worst in the capital in recent memory, was no exception.

As many as 38,000 people in the southwestern district, which borders some of the city's wealthiest high-rise apartments and sleek skyscrapers, are crammed into unhygienic shelters, officials said.

"We are sharing two toilets between 1,000 people," said Nelly, whose family of nine awoke in the middle of the night Thursday when the river overflowed its banks just 100 yards away.

The 25-year-old mother, who uses a single name, recalled rushing outside in panic as the water swept in.

"It came suddenly," she said. "The water was up to my neck when I carried my daughter out above my head."

Her 2 1/2-year-old daughter has diarrhea. They sleep on the floor of a classroom with 30 other people.

Nelly and her family are too poor to move to higher ground in Jakarta, where floods are common during the annual rainy season.

For Rina, a 27-year-old mother of two whose house was still inaccessible Tuesday, next week offers challenges enough. The school where she is staying is scheduled to reopen then, and she fears she will be kicked out.

"We just don't know where we will go," she said.

There were an estimated 340,000 people in shelters on Monday, but many were returning home Tuesday as the water continued to recede. The flood left homes filthy but caused little structural damage.

"The water is all gone, but the smell is awful," said Fifa, an 18-year-old woman as she removed bits of wood and other rubbish from her house under bright, sunny skies. "But at least we can get back to normal now."

Electricity to much of the city remained cut off on Wednesday, and health workers warned that medicine was running short, raising fears of disease spreading among the displaced. Unsanitary conditions were blamed for widespread skin problems and diarrhea.

Foreign countries donated money and aid agencies distributed badly needed soap, towels and hygiene kits in the capital, even as the Indonesian government said it would not issue a formal request for international assistance.

The European Commission pledged $775,000, the United States gave $100,000 and the Netherlands _ Indonesia's former colonial ruler _ offered $1.3 million.

Many people were angry at what they said was a sluggish government response.

"We live in modern times," said Stefanus Lamury who lives in a flooded-out residential area close to the city center's gleaming glass and steel skyscrapers. "People should have been warned. No one should have died because of this."

Citywide floods last occurred in 2002 in Jakarta, much of which is below sea level. Environmentalists blame the flooding on rivers clogged with rubbish, rampant overdevelopment, and deforestation of hills to the south of the city.

"The city administration must have the guts to tear down buildings that violate planning codes," said Slamet Daroyni, from local conservation group Walhi. "They must do so unless we want to live with the floods every year."