Heavy rain has poured throughout the capital and its peripheral areas on New Year’s Eve, resulting in heavy floods disrupting life in residential areas, Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta, and train networks.
The Transportation Ministry’s air transportation director-general, Polana B. Pramesti, said the airport has been closed since midnight because its runways were inundated by up to 80 centimetres of water. At least 10 flights were reportedly delayed while others have been redirected to Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Banten.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has reported that at least seven subdistricts in four districts were hit by floods on Tuesday morning, submerging housing areas and streets. Areas in Central Jakarta, South Jakarta, North Jakarta, East Jakarta and West Jakarta were affected by flooding.
In South Jakarta, floodwaters submerged one neighborhood unit in South Manggarai and Tebet up to 90cm deep. Flooding has also disrupted several roads in the capital city. The Jatinegara toll road was inundated up to 60cm at the 3.8-kilometer point, causing all vehicles to be rerouted to Rawamangun exit toll.
“I could not turn on my motorcycle because water has entered the muffler,” Supriadi, one of the motorcyclists caught in the flooding, said as reported by kompas.com.
Several other roads were also affected by floods, like Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, and the Cawang Interchange Tunnel in East Jakarta, which were submerged up to 50cm deep.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has instructed officials in the Jakarta administration to get directly involved and help evacuate the affected areas. “I want all the officials in the Jakarta administrations to make sure that all government buildings and schools are ready to be used as evacuation shelters. Prepare public kitchens, healthcare posts, medicines, sleeping mats, public toilets and other basic needs for evacuees,” Anies said.
Source: Jakarta Post
Image: Okezone