In Pictures

In Pictures: Jakarta slammed by monsoon floods

More than 1,300 residents forced to evacuate Jakarta after the Indonesian capital hit by severe monsoon floods.

Indonesian rescuers evacuate people amid flood water in Jakarta. [Bagus Indahono/EPA]

Severe flooding across several parts of the Indonesian capital Jakarta forced more than 1,000 people to flee their homes on Saturday, with the country’s meteorology agency warning that the conditions were set to continue for the next week.

Some 1,380 Jakarta residents were evacuated from southern and eastern parts of the city, home to 10 million people after floodwaters reached a height of 1.8 metres (six feet) in some areas, said Sabdo Kurnianto, the acting head of Jakarta’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPD), in a statement. He said no casualties had been reported.

The floods come at a time when Indonesia is already grappling with the highest caseload and death tally from COVID-19 in Southeast Asia as well as an economic recession.

Indonesia’s meteorology agency (BMKG) has said the heaviest rain of the season may fall in and around the densely populated capital in the coming days, with extreme weather, including heavy rain, thunder and strong winds, expected throughout next week.

The BMKG said Jakarta would be on alert for the next four days, with data from the meteorology agency showing intense rainfall in the past 24 hours with the area of Pasar Minggu, in Jakarta’s south, recording 226 millimetres (8.9 inches) of rain since Friday.

epa09025180 Indonesian national police push a rubber boat as they rescue residents in Jakarta, Indonesia, 20 February 2021. At least 21 areas flooded following heavy rains, during which thousands of homes were damaged in the capital, according to the National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB). EPA-EFE/Bagus Indahono — Indonesian national police guide a rubber boat through flooded streets as they rescue residents in Jakarta. [Bagus Indahono/EPA]