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View all search resultsJakarta battles floods with river cleanup, normalization plan
The Jakarta administration has stepped up river cleanup and normalization efforts as flooding continued to disrupt large parts of the capital on Friday, following heavy overnight rainfall that caused rivers to overflow, inundating residential areas and major roads.
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Children wade through floodwaters on Jan. 23, 2026 in the Kebon Pala neighborhood, Jatinegara, East Jakarta. Flooding from the Ciliwung River and Katulampa Dam in Bogor had submerged the area, with water reaching up to 130 centimeters. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S)
T
he Jakarta provincial administration stepped up river cleanup and normalization efforts on Friday as flooding continued to disrupt large parts of the capital after heavy overnight rainfall caused rivers to overflow, inundating residential areas and major roads.
Governor Pramono Anung visited the Cakung Lama River in North Jakarta’s Cilincing district and reaffirmed that river normalization would be a top priority in the city’s flood mitigation strategy.
Officials said the river has narrowed significantly over the years, creating a bottleneck that hampers water flow toward the sea and contributes to repeated flooding in surrounding areas.
“I have just inspected and checked the site directly, and it is clear that there is a bottleneck in Cakung Lama River that has become the main cause of flooding in several areas,” Pramono said during the visit on Friday.
Sediment buildup and illegal structures along the riverbanks have reduced the effective width of the channel to just two to three meters, down from its original width of around 20 meters, according to the Jakarta Water Resources Agency. The condition has been linked to recurrent flooding in several districts, particularly Cilincing, Kelapa Gading and Koja.
Read also: Explosion of janitor fish is a sign Ciliwung River heavily polluted, BRIN says
Pramono said he had given approval for the normalization of approximately two kilometers of the river and that coordination meetings would be held to ensure the work could proceed without delay.
