rainy

The time of year also marks an end to the rainy season, the start of spring and festivities marking a season of renewal and optimism.

Mr Kadau recalled how it started like every rainy season - the usual flooding in the streets.

Landslides and flash floods are not uncommon across the Indonesian archipelago especially during the rainy season and climate change has made the situation worse, officials say.

Skenes set the tone immediately on what had been a rainy evening in Pittsburgh.

"It was a rainy day. It wasn't very hot out," he said, explaining that the fortuitous weather helped to "keep the stink down".