Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi admits that high rainfall is not the sole contributing factor to the floods that inundate Jakarta this month.
January has been seeing high levels of rainfall, including these past few days. "But we certainly realize that this is not just the weather," said Prasetyo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Changes in urban spatial planning, he says, also affect the emergence of water puddles after a downpour. Sedimentation in the emergence of puddles after rain. He also mentioned that sedimentation in watershed areas also makes for easier river overflows.
Jakarta is also seeing a reduced number of reservoirs – including lakes and ponds – from thousands to "only about 200 lakes left," said Prasetyo.
The government has taken attention to this situation, Prasetyo said, as President Prabowo instructed his aides to make comprehensive analyses into the factors behind floods in Jakarta.
Head of the Data and Information Center at the Jakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) earlier reported on the recent floods that struck the region. "Torrential downpours in Jakarta and its surrounding areas resulted in puddles across the region," said Yohan on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Indonesian railway company KAI previously canceled 34 train trips due to floods on Monday, January 19, 2026. KAI Vice President of Corporate Communication Anne Purba said that from January 17 to 19, 38,000 people had applied for ticket refunds.
"This arrangement is made to ensure that every operation is truly safe for customers and staff," said Anne in a written statement on Monday, January 19, 2026.
Anne explained that the operational disruptions were caused by high rainfall and extreme weather since Friday, January 16, which led to river overflows and embankment breaches around the Pekalongan-Sragi route. In Jakarta, heavy rain also caused puddles in several railway tracks and operational areas.
– Dani Aswara and M Faiz Zaki contributed to the writing of this article.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2082284/palace-admits-heavy-rain-not-sole-cause-to-jakarta-flood