Traffic came to a standstill and thousands of residents were displaced from their homes as floods triggered by days of heavy rain inundated Central Jakarta on Thursday, Jan. 17. Authorities reported at least nine flood-related deaths, with much of the capital under water.
JAKARTA- Massive floods inundated Jakarta on Wednesday and Thursday following days of uninterrupted rains, plunging the city into total chaos. Jakarta is generally hit by rain in January and February but the violence of these seasonal rainstorms triggered massive flooding in the Indonesian capital. It forces to evacuate at least 20,000 people on Thursday. However, authorities now believe that as much as 100,000 people will have to be displaced as rain continues to pour. Torrential rains also affect West Java.
Authorities said nine people had been killed by the waters on early Friday across the 14 million-inhabitant metropolis. The Jakarta Post reported that the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has urged residents to avoid leaving their homes, if possible, during the floods and downpours that have struck many parts of the capital on Thursday.“We suggest the residents of Jakarta, if it is possible, stay at home and avoid going out in order to reduce severe congestion on the city’s streets,” the agency said in a statement distributed to journalists.
The agency also reminded the residents who left home to go to work to secure the valuable documents in a safe, high place in anticipation of possible flooding.
Floods have also disrupted train and bus services in the capital since early Thursday. Trains serving the Bogor-Jakarta route, for example, were forced to stop at the Pasar Minggu station, while trains plying other routes all had to make a final stop at the Manggarai station.
Transjakarta buses also canceled operations today. “All of our corridors have stopped operating due to flooding. We apologize for any inconvenience,” Transjakarta busway operator BLUTransjakarta announced via Twitter.
However, operations at Jakarta Soekarno Hatta International Airport remained normal with delays to be expected in airlines’ schedule. However, access to the airport remains problematic: Jakarta Airport Authorities Angkasa Pura II was working together with the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Indonesian Military and the National Police to provide lorries, buses and lifeboats to assist passengers stuck on the two toll roads leading to the airport from the city. Both were reportedly submerged by floods.
According to BPBD Jakarta, additional areas in the capital are expected to experience flooding as the water levels at several sluice gates continue to rise. The agency said that blackouts in several parts of the city had affected water pumps. “We cannot operate some water pumps due to electricity blackouts,” the agency said.
Following the flooding of the business central districts due to the collapse of a 30-meter-long section of the West Flood Canal dike, Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo declared a state of emergency for the capital for the 10 days to Jan. 27. At a press conference, the Governor indicated that flooding this year could be worse than giant inundations in 2007, when 60 percent of the city was submerged.
(Sources: the Jakarta Post- the Jakarta Globe)
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
