Flooding in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city, has left at least 190,000 people homeless as overnight rains caused more rivers to burst their banks.

At least nine million people live in the densely packed city, which is seeing its worst flooding since 2002.

"Jakarta is now on the highest alert level,'' Sihar Simanjuntak, a city official charged with monitoring water levels, said Sunday.

Days of incessant rains caused rivers to burst their banks on Friday, swamping more than 20,000 homes, businesses and government buildings and forcing authorities to shut off electricity and water supplies.

There was some receding in city centre districts on Saturday, but the water continued to rise in outlying areas.

Sunardi, from the National Coordination Agency for Disaster Relief, said five people had been killed, either by electrocution or drowning, and about 190,000 were displaced from their homes. Later reports indicate four more have died.

Those left homeless were being provided for in mosques, schools, government buildings or on higher ground.

Transportation was snarled as a result of the flooding, with main arteries leading into the city blocked off and the rail network unable to operate on many routes.

Scores of people called in to local radio stations to report they were trapped in their homes.

With files from the Associated Press