Jakarta braces for flooding as rainy season begins

DKI JAKARTA - JAKARTA. Jakarta is bracing for the impacts of the rainy season, as there are 30 flood prone areas in the capital.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the city must prepare soon as according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the rainy season had started and would continue until March next year.

“We have also detected 30 spots where regular flooding happens in the city. Every year, they are prone to flooding,” Anies said during a morning ceremony to prepare for the rainy season at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Friday.

He said among mitigation steps was adjusting traffic management.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Idham Aziz said police had prepared officers and set up task forces at police posts to prepare for flooding.

“[We’ve enlisted] 7,000 police personnel to prepare for the rainy season,” Idham said.

He said police had also established 13 task forces in city and district police posts.

“According to the weather forecast, the rainy season will last until March, so our task force will be on alert until March,” Idham said.