Jakarta Flooding: A City Battling Rising Waters

January 27, 2026 Robert Mitchell News
News Context
At a glance
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  • Sitting ⁢under the porch ‍of their modest home, Dede, Chandra and their daughter Saphira watch us⁣ approach.
Original source: swissinfo.ch
Jakarta Flooding: A City Battling Rising Waters - News Directory 3Jakarta, Indonesia.” loading=”eager” decoding=”sync” fetchpriority=”high”/>

⁤ Visible from the dyke that protects the homes of the Muara Baru⁣ slum, north of Jakarta, the Waladuna Mosque, which has been submerged as the early 2000s, has become a symbol of the land subsidence adn sea level ⁢rise that⁣ threaten the Indonesian capital. ⁣

⁢ ‍ SWI swissinfo.ch /⁤ Dorian Burkhalter ⁣

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  • In⁣ Jakarta, tides are only one factor behind⁤ flooding.Everyone we spoke ⁣to said⁤ rainfall had become more unpredictable and ⁣more intense.

    Studies show that short,heavy ‍downpours nearly doubled from 1900 to 2010.⁣ In January 2020, record rainfall of 377 millimetres fell in just 24 hours.

    According ⁣to the Indonesian media platform ⁣ Kompas, citing⁣ the National Disaster Management Agency, Greater Jakarta experienced 33 floods last year, inundating more than 12,000 homes and affecting over ⁢50,000 people. Major floods in 2020 killed around 70 people.

    Drainage systems can no longer cope with the volume of water, and the narrow rivers, clogged with waste and blocked by unregulated‍ housing, overflow ⁢regularly. Wedged between the sea and ⁣mountains to the south, the city forms ⁣a kind of ‍basin that collects ‍rainwater from surrounding areas.

‘Giant Sea Wall’

To counter the rising sea level ⁤- it’s now rising at 2-4cm a year – the authorities have built dykes stretching for about ten kilometres. But they offer only partial protection. seawater still seeps through, and some fear the dyke walls may eventually collapse.

Further dykes are planned,totalling 28 kilometres by 2030. A project to build a “Giant Sea Wall” – a huge offshore barrier enclosing a new district built ⁤on⁢ an artificial island – could also one day become reality.

abdusachman

⁣ ‍ ⁢ ⁤ ⁤ abdusachman, a 57-year-old fisherman, proudly presents his morning catch. ‍

⁢ SWI swissinfo.ch /⁣ Dorian Burkhalter ‍ ⁣

Jakarta Flooding: A City Battling Rising Waters - News Directory 3According to the authorities, the mains water ⁤network⁤ now covers ⁤75%‍ of the city. But, Joga says, “this mainly encompasses ⁣industrial and commercial areas in central jakarta”.

Water extraction is‍ draining ‍the ⁣supplies ⁣of‍ groundwater beneath the ⁣city, which is sinking under the weight of the growing number of high-rises. Meanwhile,Jakarta’s rapid ⁢concrete expansion leaves almost no‍ green spaces,preventing groundwater reserves from replenishing.

Today, ‍around 40% of the city – mainly in the north – lies below⁢ sea level. Experts ⁢warn that the ⁤entire capital could⁤ sink by ⁢2050 if nothing changes.

A water system under construction

Yet in theory, Jakarta and it’s 12 million residents – more than 30 million in the wider metropolitan area – could ⁢avoid using groundwater,⁤ Joga says.

the city has access to⁢ the sea and is crossed by 13 rivers, now badly polluted, that weave ⁤between⁢ roads, rail ⁢tracks, office towers and homes. It is ⁢also connected to two dams: Karian to the southwest, inaugurated last year,⁢ and Jatiluhur to the southeast.But infrastructure ⁤such as pipelines, sewers, treatment plants and reservoirs remains largely⁣ inadequate.

the authorities aim to connect ‍the ⁣entire city to ⁤clean water by the⁤ end of the decade; an ambitious goal intended to ⁤address land subsidence.

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Jakarta's water supply

⁤ Jakarta ⁤is one of the world’s most densely populated cities, and many residents do not have access to running⁢ water.

SWI⁢ swissinfo.ch / Dorian Burkhalter ⁤

Green spaces around⁣ the Gelora Bung Karno‍ Stadium

‍ ⁢ ⁣ Green spaces, such as those around the⁤ Gelora Bung ⁣Karno stadium ⁤(GBK), are rare in⁤ the capital, which is a veritable urban jungle. ⁣

SWI ⁢swissinfo.ch / Dorian Burkhalter

Tiza‍ Mafira

⁤ According to Tiza Mafira, the⁢ authorities could also combat water‍ extraction by encouraging households⁤ to build infiltration wells or rainwater harvesting systems.


⁤ ⁣ SWI swissinfo.ch / Dorian Burkhalter
⁣

In theory, regulations exist to limit the use of wells, but these cannot be enforced ⁤until the mains network is built.

New capital

In 2019, faced with the ⁢seemingly intractable problems plaguing Jakarta – flooding, ⁣drinking water, pollution, traffic – the former Indonesian president Joko‍ Widodo proposed a radical solution: moving the capital more than 1,000 ⁤kilometres⁤ to the northeast, to ⁣the island of Borneo, and building a futuristic new city named Nusantara in ⁤the middle of the forest.

As‍ the first civil‍ servants begin to move in despite numerous construction delays, the new ⁢president, Prabowo Subianto, in office as October 2024, no longer appears to treat his predecessor’s flagship project as a⁣ priority.The⁢ term “political capital” is now favoured.

For Dede, Chandra and Saphira, as for many Jakarta residents, Nusantara is little more than an abstract concept. It is far removed from their everyday priorities: living⁤ in safe housing,earning a decent income,gaining access ⁢to clean water,and moving around the city ⁣without losing hours on the road.

>>Read this reportage from⁤ Pulau Pari, Indonesia. Four island residents have filed ⁢a ⁣climate complaint against the cement ⁣giant Holcim:

⁣ More

Pulau Pari,Indonesia

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