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Authorities scramble to contain Greater Jakarta floods
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Rescue teams evacuate people whose homes have been flooded at Pondok Gede Permai Housing Complex in Bekasi, West Java on March 4, 2025. (AFP/REZAS)
T
housands of people have been displaced after days of heavy rain paralyzed Greater Jakarta, flooding homes and businesses, while newly elected officials and first responders scrambled to contain what was perceived as “one of the worst floods” in recent years.
The overflow of Bekasi River in West Java inundated almost the entire area of Bekasi City, disrupting life in Jakarta’s densely populated satellite city as key public infrastructure disappeared in floodwaters more than three meters deep.
In one of the more dramatic incidents in that area, muddy waters burst through and filled the entire ground floor of the Mega Bekasi Hypermall after a part of the nearby river’s embankment collapsed on Tuesday morning, the first time that has happened since 2017. Scores of people were seen trapped on the higher floors of the building, Kompas TV reported.
Bekasi Deputy Mayor Abdul Harris Bobihoe said search and rescue teams have been dispatched to evacuate trapped mallgoers. “Some have been evacuated and some are still inside, even the traders are still trapped. We are doing our best now,” he said.
Abdul revealed on separate occasions on Tuesday morning that up to 16,000 families were affected by the disaster in Bekasi alone, with approximately 5,000 of them having been displaced to much safer places.
Meanwhile, nearly 4,000 people were displaced in Jakarta as floodwaters reaching up to 5 meters inundated 117 neighborhood units (RT) across three municipalities to the east, west and south as of Tuesday afternoon.
Read also: Hundreds evacuated as torrential rains flood Greater Jakarta
