Sita W. Dewi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakarta residents should be ready for likely flooding and traffic gridlocks in the coming days as the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) forecasts further rain to fall on the capital over the next three days.
Thousands of families across Jakarta have already been affected by flooding triggered by Monday night’s heavy rain in Jakarta and Bogor. The rain and flooding also triggered severe traffic congestion across the city.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said Wednesday that the flooding was caused by the narrowing of rivers in different places in the city.
“A number of rivers in Jakarta were only 3 meters to 5 meters wide, while the ideal figure should be at least 15 meters wide,” Sutopo said in a press release.
Water of up to 1.5-meters-deep from the overflowing Pesanggarahan, Angke and Krukut rivers inundated a number of areas in Greater Jakarta on Tuesday, including West Jakarta, South Jakarta and Tangerang.
A number of districts in East Jakarta, including Jatinegara and Pasar Rebo, were also flooded.