REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Torrential rains since Sunday, Jan.12 that lead to floods in the capital city, have forced 5,125 Jakarta residents to evacuate their homes.
"Up until 7 a.m. Monday, floods had inundated 31 sub districts in 18 districts of Jakarta," National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Monday.
Based on the agencys flood impact data, the number of houses inundated reached 7,367 houses with 24,269 people, in Jakarta. At least 5,125 evacuees have been accommodated in 35 evacuation shelters across the capital.
The heights of the flood varied in several places; four meters high flood was reported in Cawang sub-district, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta. The four worst flood affected areas in East Jakarta are Cawang, Cililitan, Bidara China and Kampung Melayu.
"Most of the residents do not want to be evacuated despite floods that have reached 100-250 cm," Sutopo noted.
Residents of the area moved to the nearby supermarket area, integrated Health Posts, office buildings, mosques and the local elementary school. Rains hit the capital city on Sunday, Jan. 12, continuing with heavy showers through Monday, leading to the overflow of major rivers and flooding the nearby residential areas.
Besides affecting homes, the floods have also blocked a number of roads in Jakarta such as TB Simatupang Road in South Jakarta, Gunung Sahari Road in Central Jakarta, Kelapa Gading Road in East Jakarta and several others.