Ronna Nirmala – Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo on Thursday placed the entire capital under emergency status following the massive flooding that paralyzed the city.

"Because of the situation, we've declared an emergency status from today until Jan. 27," the governor known as Jokowi said on Thursday after meeting with some ministers and the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency in his office.

The city administration will issue an official letter declaring the emergency status that would allow the government to take extraordinary steps to respond to the flooding crisis.

"This is for short-term solutions to the floods, such as the need for toilets," Jokowi said. "We can make direct purchases of [public] toilets, blankets and other needs without going through a tender process first."

Torrential rain from Wednesday night until Thursday morning had paralyzed the capital, with floodwaters up to one meter deep rendering several roads impassable.

The Transjakarta busway halted operations on Thursday morning while trains from Bogor were only able to travel to Manggarai as the Kota and Sudirman stations were inundated as well.

Jokowi further said that schools in flood-affected regions could suspend classes until the immediate problem was solved.

"Students will get [flood] holidays as we have already discussed," Jokowi said. "But this is only in subdistricts where the impact [of the flood] can no longer be handled. It's better to give them a holiday."

However, Jokowi said this policy did not apply to public servants. "No public leave. If necessary, they should also work on Saturday and Sunday," he said, commenting on false messages broadcast via Blackberry Messenger that the governor had announced today as a public holiday.

Antaranews.com reported that according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 27 of the 44 subdistricts in Jakarta were affected by the flood.