Jakarta Flood 2013

Severe floods have been reported to have hit Jakarta in the past,
including in 2007. An important part of the flooding problem is
caused by the fact that a substantial part of Jakarta is low-lying.
Around 24,000 ha of the main part of Jakarta is estimated to be below
sea level. Flooding can become severe if heavy rain happens to
coincide with high tides. When this happens, high tides tend to push
water into low-lying areas just as the run off from rains in upland
areas such as nearby Bogor is flowing down into the Jakarta area.

The flood in 2013 began on Tuesday, 15 January 2013, in some parts

of the city as a result of heavy rain and waterways clogged with
garbage and other kinds of debris. Serious flooding began along
several main thoroughfares of Jakarta. A 30-meter-long section of
Jakarta’s West Flood Canal dike on Jalan Johannes
Latuharhary in Menteng collapsed. This breach quickly caused
flooding in nearby areas. Military personnel, the Jakarta public works
agency, and public order officers joined forces to quickly replace the
collapsed dike section with a temporary retaining wall made of rocks
and sandbags. Workers finished rebuilding a section of a canal dike.

The clearing of the land above Jakarta has been identified as a major
contributor to Jakarta's water table and flooding issues. Jakarta has a
very bad sewage system due to the disposing of trash in roads and
sidewalks.