JakartaPost-March 5, 2025
Thousands of people have been displaced after days of heavy rain paralyzed Greater Jakarta, flooding homes and businesses, while newly elected officials and first responders scrambled to contain what was perceived as “one of the worst floods” in recent years. The overflow of Bekasi River in West Java inundated almost the entire area of Bekasi City, disrupting life in Jakarta’s densely populated satellite city as key public infrastructure disappeared in floodwaters more than three meters deep. In one of the more dramatic incidents in that area, muddy waters burst through and filled the entire ground floor of the Mega Bekasi Hypermall after a part of the nearby river’s embankment collapsed on Tuesday morning, the first time that has happened since 2017. Scores of people were seen trapped on the higher floors of the building, Kompas TV reported. Bekasi Deputy Mayor Abdul Harris Bobihoe said search and rescue teams have been dispatched to evacuate trapped mallgoers. Abdul revealed on separate occasions on Tuesday morning that up to 16,000 families were affected by the disaster in Bekasi alone, with approximately 5,000 of them having been displaced to much safer places. Meanwhile, nearly 4,000 people were displaced in Jakarta as floodwaters reaching up to 5 meters inundated 117 neighborhood units (RT) across three municipalities to the east, west and south as of Tuesday afternoon. In Bogor, West Java, more than 300 people were evacuated, dozens of houses were damaged and one bridge collapsed. In Tangerang, Banten, 350 houses were flooded after the Cimanceuri River overflowed. Authorities have been distributing ready-to-eat meals, blankets, childcare packages and relief kits to the evacuation sites. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) further proceeded by commencing three waves of weather modification operation on Tuesday, releasing a ton of salt during each wave above the Greater Jakarta area. BNPB head Suharyanto said that the operation, which is geared towards reducing the intensity of rainfall and diverting it away from flood-prone areas, will continue at least until mid-March. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2025/03/05/authorities-scramble-to-contain-greater-jakarta-floods.html.
