JAKARTA – Severe flooding over several areas in the Indonesian capital has forced more than a thousand people to flee their homes on Saturday, while the country’s meteorological agency warned that conditions would continue for next week.
About 1,380 Jakarta residents have been evacuated from the southern and eastern parts of the city – where ten million people live – after floodwaters in some areas reached 1.8 meters high, said Sabdo Kurnianto, the acting head of Jakarta’s disaster relief agency, in ‘ a statement said. He said no casualties were reported.
People posted photos on social media of residents waving through shoulder-like muddy waters, cars almost completely submerged, and search teams evacuating elderly people in rubber boats during the peak of the monsoon season.
“According to the latest data, two hundred neighborhoods have been affected,” Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan told local television early on Saturday, adding that more than two dozen evacuation centers were being prepared across the city.
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The floods come at a time when Indonesia is already struggling with the highest caseload and death rate of Covid-19 in Southeast Asia and an economic recession.
The Indonesian Meteorological Agency (BMKG) has warned that the heaviest rain of the season could fall in and around the densely populated capital in the coming days, with extreme weather including heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, expected next week.
“These are critical times that we need to be aware of,” said BMWG head Dwikorita Karnawati.
“Jakarta and its surrounding areas are still in the peak period of the rainy season, which is expected to continue until the end of February or early March.”
The BMKG said Jakarta will be up to date over the next four days, with data from the Meteorological Agency showing intense rainfall over the past 24 hours.