Floods in Indonesia's Capital Jakarta Submerge Thousands of Homes, Displacing Hundreds of Thousands—More Deterioration Expected

Floods in Indonesia's Capital Jakarta Submerge Thousands of Homes, Displacing Hundreds of Thousands—More Deterioration Expected

Jakarta, March 5: Thousands of people were evacuated in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, on Tuesday after floods inundated the region, officials reported, with heavy rain expected to continue until next week.

Since Monday, heavy rainfall has led to flooding of up to 3 meters in Jakarta and surrounding areas, according to a statement from the country's disaster agency. As a result, several roads have been blocked, and over 1,000 houses and many cars have been submerged.

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung raised the alert level to the second highest, "critical," and called on the local government to activate water pumps to remove floodwater from affected areas. He also ordered weather modification operations, which typically involve shooting salt flares into clouds to induce rain before it reaches land. Local media reported that floodwaters also entered a hospital in the eastern town of Bekasi, flooding some wards and forcing the evacuation of patients to other buildings. Power outages were also reported at the hospital.

Rescue teams, using rubber boats, have been evacuating residents trapped in floods since 4 a.m. (2100 GMT) from a housing complex in Bekasi, according to Reuters.

The country's weather agency warned that heavy rain is expected to continue in the capital and surrounding cities until March 11. "We need to stay alert... but hopefully, weather modification will reduce the rainfall," said the agency's head Dwikorita Karnawati.

Sri Suyatni, 50, said she did not have time to collect her belongings before evacuating, and her entire house was submerged in floodwater. "I hope the floods will recede soon," she said.

The government has already set up temporary shelters and started distributing food, clothes, and medicines for the evacuees, said Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf. Residents are being relocated to schools, mosques, and churches.

The Greater Jakarta metropolitan area, home to more than 30 million people, is regularly hit by floods. However, local media reported that the current situation, especially in Bekasi, is the worst since 2020.