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The earthen dam collapsed early Friday outside Jakarta after several hours of heavy rain.
The collapse sent two million cubic meters of water crashing into homes, leaving hundreds of buildings underwater.
Rescuers used rubber rafts to retrieve survivors, who compared the wave to a tsunami. The water was so high in some places that many people had climbed onto rooftops.
Most residents were sleeping when the dam broke, giving them little chance to escape.
Visiting the disaster area Friday, Indonesia's vice president Jusuf Kalla and welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie promised government support for those whose homes were destroyed.
Indonesia often experiences deadly floods and landslides during the rainy season.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters. By VOA News
Posted March 28th, 2009 by Armen Hareyan
