JAKARTA, Mar 4 (NNN-ANTARA) – Severe flooding hit most areas of Jakarta and its satellite cities today, after heavy rain poured over the regions since last night, leaving thousands of houses submerged and hundreds of residents affected.
Videos taken by residents showed severe flooding with water levels reaching rooftops and submerging entire cars. The floods also caused significant traffic congestion across the cities.
Local media reported that, a joint team from the regional disaster management agency, fire department, and search and rescue team were deployed to the affected areas, to assist with evacuations and emergency responses.
Head of Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency, Dwikorita Karnawati, said, the floods had been predicted in several regions across the country.
“The heavy rain was caused by the detection of atmospheric waves, such as the Equatorial Rossby wave and the Kelvin wave, followed by the formation of a low-pressure area, and the convergence of several wind patterns from various directions,” said Karnawati.
She added that, extreme weather was likely to continue in Jakarta and surrounding cities for the next week.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) announced that, weather modification operations (OMC) would be conducted in the affected areas until Saturday, to reduce rainfall intensity and mitigate flooding.
“Hopefully, with the implementation of this OMC, we can at least reduce the rain in the coming days,” said BNPB Chief, Lieutenant General Suharyanto, in a virtual press conference.– NNN-ANTARA
