Thousands evacuated as torrential rains flood Indonesia capital

JAKARTA - Thousands of people were evacuated from flooded areas around Jakarta on March 4 as torrential rain pounded the Indonesian capital and its surrounding satellite cities, causing several rivers to overflow.

There were no immediate reports of casualties after the latest deluge, but parts of the city, home to around 11 million people, ground to a halt as whole neighbourhoods were swamped in muddy water.

Torrential rain since March 3 triggered floods of up to 3m in and around Jakarta, the country’s disaster agency said in a statement. The floods blocked some roads and submerged over 1,000 houses and many cars.

Water was metres high in areas of east and south Jakarta on March 4 after the rain caused the Ciliwung River to overflow, affecting 1,446 people from 224 houses in one village alone, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said.

Local media reported floodwaters also swamped a hospital in the eastern town of Bekasi, with water entering some wards, forcing the evacuation of patients to other buildings, while other parts of the hospital were hit by power outages.

Rescuers on rubber boats sailed through thigh-high water to evacuate residents that had been trapped in floods since 4am local time at a housing complex in Bekasi, Reuters reporters said.

The country’s weather agency warned that heavy rain is forecast to hit the capital and surrounding cities until March 11. “We need to be alert... But hopefully the weather modification could reduce rainfall,” said the agency’s head Dwikorita Karnawati.

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung raised the alert level to the second highest of the critical stages, calling on the local government to activate water pumps to extract water from flooded areas and conduct weather modification operations – which typically include shooting salt flares into clouds to trigger rain before it reaches land.

In Bogor, more than 300 people were evacuated, dozens of houses were damaged and one bridge collapsed. In Tangerang, 350 houses were flooded after the Cimanceuri River overflowed.

Residents took to rooftops or used ropes to pull themselves to safety through the floodwaters in one south Jakarta district, said an AFP journalist at the scene.

The authorities were distributing ready-to-eat food, blankets and tarpaulins to those affected by the floods, and deploying rubber boats to evacuate residents.

“If there is a shortage, the public can ask for more. We are ready to help,” BNPB deputy for emergency response Lukmansyah said in a statement.

The low-lying city is prone to flooding during the wet season which runs from around November to March.

In 2020, torrential rain triggered flooding and landslides that killed nearly 70 people in and around Jakarta, while thousands more were forced to flee to shelters. AFP, REUTERS