Lenny Tristia Tambun – Heavy rainfall and flooding have left at least seven dead this week in Indonesia's capital, according to city officials.
"The data we gathered shows that there are seven people dead. The causes [include] sickness, drowning after slipping and getting electrocuted," Jakarta Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) information chief Surya Putra said on Saturday.
As of Wednesday, five Jakarta residents has died due to flooding. Victims died in neighborhoods around the city, from Cipinang in East Jakarta to Bintaro in South Jakarta, Cengkareng in West Jakarta and Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta.
Flooded areas included: Kampung Melayu and Jatinegara in East Jakarta; Rawa Buaya, Kapuk, Kali Angke, Cengkareng, Jelambar, Grogol, Petamburan, Tambora, Kedoya and Kebon Jeruk in West Jakarta; and Kapuk Muara, Penjaringan, Pademangan, Kelapa Gading and Sunter in North Jakarta. Water levels in these areas ranged from 20 centimeter to 1.5 meters.
At least 4,000 people have been displaced across the city, seeking refuge in 54 shelters, according to BPBD data.
The BPBD urged all Jakarta residents to exercise caution and recommend residents whose houses were flooded to evacuate to dry ground. "We hope there will be no more victims from this flood," Bambang said.
Heavy rainfall Friday night caused flooding on roads throughout Jakarta by Saturday morning. As an emergency measure, Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo authorized city officers to open the Manggarai floodgate.
"I asked them to open the floodgate facing the State Palace," Joko said early Saturday morning at an East Jakarta shelter where he was visiting flood victims. He said the move would reduce further flooding.
A Manggarai floodgate officer, identified only as Farhan, told news portal Liputan6.com that the gate had been open since early Saturday morning, causing lower water levels at the site.
"The water level at the Manggarai floodgate is lower, but only by a little," Farhan said. "It was 960 centimeters, now it is 940 centimeters." Farhan said that the gate would remain open until the water level dropped to 850 centimeters.
The rainy season arrived in earnest in Jakarta on Jan. 12, with sustained downpours in the city and in the outlying valleys on Sunday and Monday inundating flood-prone area in the basin of the greater metropolitan area. More than 25,000 people were evacuated from their homes by Monday afternoon.
Residents in North Jakarta woke up to increased water levels on Friday – Mangga Dua and Kelapa Gading were under up to 60 and 100 centimeters of water, respectively, on Friday afternoon – while the outlook for East Jakartans was predicted to go from bad to worse.
Water at the Katulampa flood gate on the city's southern fringe reached 170 centimeters at 12 p.m. on Friday. The normal level is 40 centimeters. A 200 centimeter recording would prompt a state of emergency.
Meanwhile, the government declared a state of emergency in Manado, North Sulawesi on Thursday as floods and landslides left at least 16 dead and thousands displaced.