Intense Flooding Engulfs Jakarta and Nearby Areas Following Heavy Rain
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Synopsis
Severe flooding in Jakarta and surrounding cities has led to extensive property damage and emergency evacuations. Local authorities are mobilizing to respond to the crisis and mitigate further weather impacts.
Key Takeaways
- Heavy rain led to severe flooding in Jakarta.
- Thousands of homes were submerged.
- Emergency services are conducting evacuations.
- Weather modification operations aim to reduce rainfall.
- Extreme weather is expected to persist.
Jakarta, March 4 (NationPress) Intense flooding affected numerous regions in Jakarta and its neighboring cities on Tuesday after a deluge of heavy rain struck, resulting in thousands of homes inundated and hundreds of residents displaced.
Footage captured by locals depicted severe flooding, with water levels rising to rooftops and completely submerging vehicles. The flooding also caused major traffic disruptions throughout the cities.
Local news outlets reported that a collaborative team from the regional disaster response agency, fire service, and search-and-rescue units was dispatched to the affected regions to facilitate evacuations and emergency measures.
According to Dwikorita Karnawati, head of Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency, the flooding was anticipated in various areas across the Southeast Asian nation.
"The intense rainfall was triggered by the detection of atmospheric phenomena such as the Equatorial Rossby wave and the Kelvin wave, followed by the emergence of a low-pressure system and the convergence of multiple wind patterns from different directions," she explained.
Karnawati further noted that extreme weather conditions are expected to persist in Jakarta and its neighboring cities for the upcoming week.
In response, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) announced that weather modification operations (OMC) would be carried out in the impacted areas until Saturday to lessen rainfall intensity and alleviate flooding, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
"We hope that through the implementation of this OMC, we can at least diminish the rainfall in the coming days," expressed BNPB chief, Lt General Suharyanto during a virtual press briefing.
Hundreds were evacuated from numerous flooded neighborhoods around Jakarta on Tuesday as torrential rains battered the Indonesian capital and its satellite cities, leading to the overflow of several rivers.
No immediate reports of casualties have emerged following the latest downpour, but parts of the city, which houses around 11 million residents, experienced significant disruptions as entire neighborhoods were engulfed in muddy water.
In certain areas of east and south Jakarta, water levels reached several meters high on Tuesday after rain caused the Ciliwung River to overflow, impacting 1,446 individuals from 224 homes in a single village, as stated by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
