Flooding Strikes Jakarta, Indonesia; More Storms to Follow

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

February 9,2015; 8:36PM,EST

 

 

Widespread flooding inundated Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday night through Monday, and more storms this week threaten to worsen the situation.
Flooding quickly ensued Sunday night through Monday in Jakarta as persistent rain and thunderstorms unleashed 300 to 380 mm (12 to 15 inches) of rainfall.
Television photos showed that up to 20 cm (nearly 8 inches) of flood waters covered city hall in central Jakarta and the front lawn of the presidential palace, according to the Bangkok Post.
Runoff from the rain flooded dozens of roads and severely affected public transportation, stated the Jakarta Globe.

A bus wades through floodwaters in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
The TransJakarta busway was forced to halt operations on half of its corridors Monday morning, while train services were disrupted.
RELATED:
Detailed Forecast for Jakarta
Indonesia Weather Center
Indonesia Satellite Page
The Jakarta Globe also reported that the state utility firm Perusahaan Listrik Negera shut down power grids in several areas of northern, western and central Jakarta. The move was a precautionary measure to prevent electrocutions.
Jakarta is amid its rainy season, which eclipses the summer months in the Southern Hemisphere, when showers and thunderstorms rumble on a daily basis.

"Upslope flow into the mountains [south of Jakarta] enhanced the rainfall Sunday night through Monday and lead to a training effect," according to AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Jim Andrews.
The training effect means that rain or thunderstorms will repeatedly move over the same area and trigger flooding.
As the rainy season continues and deep tropical moisture remains in place, Jakarta will remain the target of daily rounds of showers and thunderstorms through the remainder of this week.
Not every shower or thunderstorm will unload torrential rain, but any downpour can worsen or renew the flooding situation. That is especially true for slow-moving or repeating downpours.