February 28, 2023
JAKARTA – Over 100 neighborhoods in Jakarta and parts of its satellite cities of Tangerang and Bekasi have been inundated following heavy downpours in recent days.
The Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported that 104 neighborhood units (RTs) in the capital were flooded as of Monday afternoon, up from 48 that morning, and warned more rain was possible in the coming days.
The floodwater depths ranged from 20 centimeters to over 1 meter in a few neighborhoods of East Jakarta.
Acting BPBD Jakarta head Isnawa Adji said on Monday that 0.341 percent of the city’s RTs had flooded, as well as five stretches of road, Kompas.com reported. He urged residents to be cautious.
Fifty-seven of the flooded neighborhoods were located in East Jakarta, 28 in West Jakarta and 19 in South Jakarta. East Jakarta was the hardest-hit region as of Monday evening as the Ciliwung River, one of the most polluted rivers in the city and considered a main reason for Jakarta’s regular flooding, overflowed.
Acting Jakarta Governor Heru Budi Hartono said his administration would “continue making efforts” to reduce flooding along the Ciliwung, tribunnews.com reported.
Heru has resumed a river normalization project along the Ciliwung’s Jakarta stretch to mitigate flooding in the area. His predecessor Anies Baswedan had halted the initiative.
Last week, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo toured two ongoing flood control projects along parts of the river in East Jakarta.
In Bekasi, one of Jakarta’s satellite cities, heavy rains on Sunday and Monday caused episodes of flooding in 9 districts, with a residential area in Jatiasih being the worst affected. In neighboring Bekasi regency, 11 districts were inundated as of Monday, according to various media reports.
In Tangerang regency, some two dozen houses were inundated after Ranca Gelam Lake and the Cirarab River overflowed in the morning as a result of the rains, Antara reported.
Some motorcyclists tried but failed to drive along a stretch of inundated road connecting Tangerang city to West Jakarta on Monday, kompas.com reported.
According to data from the Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), West Jakarta, East Jakarta, Tangerang and Bekasi, will likely see light rain on Tuesday, while Bogor is likely to experience moderate rain.
The agency warned Bogor would likely see heavy rain on Wednesday.
For Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the BMKG predicted that Jakarta and its surrounding cities would see light rain.
Outside of Jakarta, a number of provinces, including West Java, Central Java, East Java, Bali, Lampung, Bengkulu, Riau and Aceh, are expected to experience heavy rain in the coming days.
January and February are generally the peak of rainy season, according to the BMKG.