Jakarta’s floods worsen, displacing thousands as extreme weather, poor planning collide

Extreme weather has exacerbated flooding in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and its surrounding cities, adding to the metropolis’ chronic problems of poor urban planning and land subsidence, experts said.

Severe flooding in the greater Jakarta region, home to 30 million people, last week resulted in the death of a young child and displaced 120,000 residents. This region includes Bekasi, Depok, and Bogor in West Java province, as well as Tangerang in Banten province.

The country’s meteorological agency, BMKG, said the flood was caused by “extreme rainfall” on March 2 in Bogor. Located upstream along the Ciliwung River, the area typically directs floodwater toward Jakarta, as one of the 13 waterways that feed into the capital.

Heavy showers persisted for several days, with daily rainfall recorded between 165mm and 208mm, BMKG said on March 4. Jakarta’s drainage system can only handle a maximum of 150mm of rain per day.

Rainfall in Indonesia is expected to last until the end of the month.