The usual Jakarta chaos was exacerbated on Monday by heavy rainfall and strong winds that left in their wake flooded roads and toppled trees along the capital’s main thoroughfares, disrupting transportation services and causing severe traffic congestion.

In the first case of heavy flooding under Governor Anies Baswedan’s administration, Jakartans faced long and complex journeys home as the roads in major business districts, like the Kuningan and Sudirman areas, were either submerged by water or blocked by fallen trees.

The Dukuh Atas underpass in South Jakarta reportedly experienced one of the worst incidences of flooding on Monday, with inundation reaching a height of about 50 centimeters. Although most of the floods receded within two hours, severe congestion lasted well into the evening as at least 26 trees had fallen during the sudden downpour.

Satrio Wiavianto, 25, an employee at a private company who was attending a meeting in Senayan, South Jakarta, when it began to rain, had a hard time finding a way back home to Salemba, Central Jakarta, as parts of Jl. Jendral Sudirman and Jl. Rasuna Said had been flooded.

“I tried to order an online ridehailing service and then an online motorcycle taxi, but I couldn’t get a driver. So, I decided to go home later [in the evening],” he said.

Commuter trains passing Karet Station in Central Jakarta, as well as Ancol and Kampung Bandan Stations in North Jakarta, were temporarily suspended because trees had fallen onto the tracks’ overhead lines.

The incidents affected the Tanah Abang-Manggarai and Jakarta Kota-Tanjung Priok routes, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in affected stations until late in the evening.

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