Indonesian rescue teams flew helicopters stuffed with food to remote flood-hit communities yesterday as the death toll from the disaster jumped to 53 and fears grew about the possibility of more torrential rain.

Tens of thousands in Jakarta were still unable to return to their waterlogged homes after some of the deadliest flooding in years hit the enormous capital region, home to about 30 million. “It’s tough to get supplies in there... and there are about a dozen places hit by landslides,” Banten police chief Tomsi Tohir told AFP.