Vehicles pass on Jan 29, 2025, during flooding on the Sedyatmo Toll Road in Tangerang, Banten. The toll road, which is the main access to Soekarno-Hatta Airport, was flooded with 20-30 centimeters of water because of heavy rain. - Photo: Antara
JAKARTA: A number of roads across Jakarta were inundated during Chinese New Year on Wednesday (Jan 29), hindering access for vehicles in the capital during the long holiday.
At least 22 roads and 52 community units (RT) in Jakarta were flooded as of Wednesday morning, according to the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).
Some of the flooded areas included North Jakarta and West Jakarta, with flooding from Penjaringan to Pengangsaan Dua in Kelapa Gading as well as Kembangan and Kebon Jeruk.
Gambir in Central Jakarta was also under water. The floodwater reached up to 30 centimeters deep.
Over 2,500 residents in the affected neighborhoods have also reportedly been evacuated to safer places.
There is a five-day holiday from Saturday to Wednesday because of public holidays commemorating the ascension of the Prophet Muhammad on Monday and Chinese New Year on Wednesday.
Jakarta BPBD spokesperson Mohamad Yohan said the floods were triggered by heavy rain since Tuesday night, which also caused water drainage systems to overflow.
“According to information from the Jakarta Water Resources Agency (DSDA), water in the ditches overflowed,” Yohan said on Wednesday, Kompas reported.
Yohan said the BPBD Jakarta has deployed 267 personnel and a number of water pumps to drain the floodwater.
Heavy rainfall on Tuesday evening raised water levels by between 30 and 100 centimeters across Tangerang city and regencies in Banten province, inundating homes in at least five districts and temporarily disrupting access to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the main hub for air travelers to Jakarta.
At least 19 international and four domestic inbound flights were diverted to other airports for safety reasons on Tuesday night. Soekarno-Hatta Airport deputy general manager of operations Didik Agus Suryono said the airport service had returned to normal on Wednesday morning when weather permitted, Antara reported.
The airport also reported long lines of planes waiting to take off during the long holiday.
Airport train operator PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI) reported disruption on its Tangerang lines that night, Kompas reported, but the service resumed normal operations on Wednesday morning.
Some sections of roads to the airport were still closed on Wednesday because of the flooding, including the northern stretch of the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) to Kosambi.
“We are handling the situation right now,” said airport spokesperson M. Holik Muardi, underlining that the JORR was not the main access road to Soekarno-Hatta.
He added that airport operations had returned to normal.
The Tangerang administration, meanwhile, began evacuating around 680 families from the districts of Pasar Kemis, Rajeg, Sepatan, Teluknaga and Kosambi using inflatable rubber boats, Antara reported on Wednesday morning.
“We took immediate action last night and evacuated residents affected by flooding to disaster coordination posts,” acting Tangerang mayor Nurdin said on Wednesday, as quoted by Antara.
He also urged the public to remain vigilant and promptly report any emergencies.
“Our team will remain on standby and be ready to receive reports, whether through the call center 112 or LAKSA, which are operating nonstop, 24-7,” Nurdin said.
In Bogor, a West Java regency located on the outskirts of Jakarta, torrential rain on Tuesday caused two rivers to overflow, inundating parts of two villages in Bojonggede district.
By Wednesday, floodwater had started to recede. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
