Jakarta Is Sinking!
Summary
TLDRJakarta, once a seaside city, now faces the threat of sinking due to over-extraction of groundwater and rampant urban development. The city's inadequate flood management, including clogged canals filled with garbage, exacerbates frequent flooding, affecting both the poor and the wealthy. With the city sinking up to 6 centimeters annually, drastic measures are needed to prevent millions from displacement and future 'perfect storm' scenarios that could submerge significant parts of Jakarta.
Takeaways
- 🌊 Jakarta, once known as Sunda Kelapa, is a seaside city that has grown to a population of 25 million over 500 years.
- 🏙️ The city's rapid expansion has led to environmental issues, including the city literally sinking due to over-extraction of groundwater and lack of maintenance of its flood channels.
- 🌧️ Jakarta experiences frequent flooding, with the worst in three centuries occurring in February, causing 54 deaths and nearly 1 billion dollars in damage.
- 🚜 The city's waterways are heavily polluted with garbage, reducing the capacity of flood channels by 50 to 80 percent, which exacerbates flooding.
- 🌊 Dutch water engineer General Yahya Brickman is working with the World Bank to address Jakarta's flood problems, highlighting the need for constant maintenance of the city's flood channels.
- 🏞️ Jakarta's surrounding hills, once able to absorb rainwater, have been replaced by development, increasing the runoff and strain on flood channels during heavy rains.
- 🏠 The poor living in slums alongside waterways are the most vulnerable to flooding, which disproportionately affects them.
- 💰 The World Bank is providing a 150 million dollar loan to help fix Jakarta's flood channels, indicating the scale of the problem.
- 🏢 The city's lack of effective public transport and increasing traffic congestion, along with rampant development, contribute to the city's weight, causing it to sink further.
- 🏖️ Jakarta's elites are building luxury developments, like Command Village, designed to be flood-proof, highlighting the disparity in how different social classes are affected by and respond to the city's environmental challenges.
- ⏳ Jakarta is sinking at a rate of up to 6 centimeters per year, with predictions that if no action is taken, it could be 1 meter lower in 18 years, leading to large areas becoming uninhabitable.
Q & A
What was Jakarta known as in the 16th century?
-Jakarta was known as Sunda Kelapa in the 16th century.
What is the current situation of Jakarta's waterways and why are they important?
-Jakarta's waterways are clogged with sediment and garbage, reducing their capacity significantly. They are crucial for flood prevention as they used to be part of a complex system of flood channels built by the Dutch to protect the city from its 13 crossing rivers.
How has the dumping of garbage into the canals affected Jakarta's flood capacity?
-The dumping of garbage into the canals has reduced their capacity by 50 to 80 percent, causing the city to be more prone to flooding, which now occurs every few years instead of once every 50 years.
What role is the World Bank playing in addressing Jakarta's flood problems?
-The World Bank is helping to solve Jakarta's flood problems by contracting Dutch water engineer General Yahya Brickman and providing loans of 150 million dollars to help fix Jakarta's flood channels.
What is the impact of rampant development on Jakarta's ability to handle rainfall?
-Rampant development, including the construction of holiday villas on hills, has reduced the land's ability to absorb rainwater. This leads to swollen rivers, clogged with sediment and garbage, and overwhelmed flood channels during rainfall.
How does Jakarta's sinking affect its flood situation?
-Jakarta's sinking, caused by groundwater extraction and the weight of urban development, pushes the city downwards, making it more susceptible to flooding even on days without rain.
What is the impact of Jakarta's lack of effective mass public transport system on the city's traffic?
-The lack of an effective mass public transport system in Jakarta contributes to severe traffic congestion, with 900 extra motorcycles and 260 new cars added to the roads every day.
What measures are being taken to prevent Jakarta from sinking further?
-Measures to prevent further sinking include the construction of integrated developments like Command Village, which is designed to be flood-proof, and the consideration of stopping groundwater extraction or building a massive sea wall off Jakarta's coast.
What are the consequences of not addressing Jakarta's sinking and flooding issues?
-If not addressed, Jakarta could lose almost a third of its land to the sea within the next 20 years, displacing millions of people and leading to potential disasters during heavy rains and high tides.
How does the city's administration plan to tackle the issue of Jakarta's sinking?
-The city's administration is considering solutions such as stopping groundwater extraction or building a massive sea wall off Jakarta's coast to prevent the city from sinking and to protect against future flooding.
What is the significance of the moon's cycle in relation to Jakarta's flooding?
-The moon's cycle and the angle of the earth cause king tides, which have been occurring since time began. As Jakarta sinks and slips below sea level, these tides are causing predictable flooding events.
Outlines
🌊 Jakarta's Sinking Dilemma
This paragraph introduces Jakarta, a city historically known as a seaside city, now facing the threat of sinking due to various factors unrelated to climate change. It highlights the city's expansion from a small port to a metropolis of 25 million people and the severe flooding events that have caused significant loss and damage. The narrative delves into the city's waterways, polluted with garbage, and the Dutch engineer's efforts to maintain the canals' capacity, crucial for flood prevention. The historical context of Dutch influence on the city's flood infrastructure is also discussed.
🏞️ Urban Development and Environmental Impact
The second paragraph discusses the impact of urban development on Jakarta's flooding issues. It explains how the construction of holiday villas and the reduction of green spaces have diminished the land's ability to absorb rainwater, leading to more frequent and severe floods. The focus then shifts to the socio-economic aspects, illustrating how the poor living near waterways are the most vulnerable to flooding. The narrative also touches on the World Bank's involvement in providing loans to address Jakarta's flood problems and the challenges faced by the city's middle and upper classes due to the flooding.
🏢 The Burden of Urbanization and Elite Escape
This paragraph examines the role of Jakarta's mall culture and the city's elite in exacerbating the sinking issue. It describes how the weight of new constructions, including malls and luxury developments, contributes to the city's subsidence. The narrative also highlights the irony of Jakarta's wealthy escaping the realities of urbanization by retreating to artificial environments like malls and high-end developments, which paradoxically add to the city's weight and sinking problem. The paragraph also touches on the city's traffic congestion and lack of effective public transport.
🌊 Rising Tides and the Future of Jakarta
The final paragraph addresses the long-term consequences of Jakarta's sinking and the challenges it poses for the city's future. It discusses the king tides and their increasing frequency due to the city's subsidence, leading to more frequent flooding even on clear days. The narrative also explores the potential solutions, such as stopping groundwater extraction or building a massive seawall, and the dire implications of inaction, which could result in the displacement of millions and the loss of a significant portion of the city to the sea.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Jakarta
💡Sunda Kelapa
💡Flooding
💡Canals
💡Groundwater extraction
💡Urban development
💡World Bank
💡Slums
💡Integrated development
💡Sea wall
💡King tides
Highlights
Jakarta, historically a seaside city, is currently facing the threat of sinking due to various factors.
The city's old port area, Sunda Kelapa, represents Jakarta's origins but now symbolizes the challenges of urban expansion.
Jakarta's growth has led to a population of 25 million, exerting pressure that contributes to the city's subsidence.
Floods are a regular occurrence in Jakarta due to its low-lying plains, but recent events have been unusually severe.
The 2019 monsoon rains resulted in the worst flood in three centuries, causing significant loss of life and economic damage.
Jakarta's waterways are heavily polluted, affecting the city's ability to manage floodwaters effectively.
Dutch engineer General Yahya Brickman is working with the World Bank to address Jakarta's flood issues.
The city's flood channels, originally built by the Dutch, have been compromised by sediment and waste, reducing their capacity.
Jakarta's surrounding hills, once able to absorb rainwater, have been developed, exacerbating flood conditions.
The city's poor, living near waterways, are the most vulnerable to the devastating effects of flooding.
The World Bank is providing a $150 million loan to help fix Jakarta's flood channels, a critical step in flood management.
Jakarta's elites are developing luxury properties to avoid the city's water problems, highlighting a divide in flood vulnerability.
The city's lack of effective public transport and increasing traffic congestion contribute to its environmental challenges.
Groundwater extraction is causing Jakarta to sink, with less than half of households having tap water, exacerbating the issue.
The combination of groundwater extraction and the city's increasing weight is causing land subsidence.
Jakarta's sinking has led to flooding even on days without rain, indicating a critical environmental shift.
The city's administration is grappling with the need to stop groundwater extraction or build a massive sea wall to prevent displacement.
Without action, a significant portion of Jakarta is at risk of being submerged, affecting millions of residents.
The city faces a 'perfect storm' scenario where flood risks could combine with heavy rains, leading to a major disaster.
Lack of planning and maintenance has put Jakarta in a precarious position, requiring urgent solutions from its administration.
Transcripts
these days few people think of Jakarta
is a seaside city but for more than 500
years that's exactly what it's been it
was known as sunda kelapa back in the
16th century these days that name only
refers to this small old port on the
city's northern fringe this area is
known as the old city and it was from
here that Grady Jakarta marched south
east and west to become a city of 25
million people and under the weight of
all that Indonesia's capital is quite
literally sinking and unless drastic
action is taken where I'm standing now
will be under the sea within 20 years
and it's got nothing to do with climate
change
Chikara is a city built on low-lying
plains that means floods of some sort or
other happen all the time
even so when the monsoon rains fell in
February last year two cartons were not
expecting the worst flood for three
centuries
when it was over 54 people were dead and
almost 1 billion dollars worth of damage
was done
the diagnosis was clear to count his
flights with Eagles
to find out why this is happening you've
got to dig around in the sludge of the
city's filthy waterways
so here we are one of the most important
channels in Jakarta the Western flat
General Yahya Brickman is a Dutch water
engineer contracted to the World Bank
which is helping solve Jakarta's flood
problems for scrap metal for bottles
plastic all the kind of stuff and
everybody has his own material that they
are looking for and that they sell it
and nothing goes to waste nothing goes
away so even though a guy that the
collects straws drillings from drinking
straws cleans them again and sells them
again when the Dutch took over 400 years
ago they brought a lot more to the city
than just the new name of Batavia they
also built a complex system of flood
channels to protect this city crossed by
13 rivers the Western flood channel used
to run alongside Battaglia's western
flank today it cuts straight through
Jakarta's bloated heart
because the city's residents dump their
garbage into them the canals need
constant maintenance but for 25 years
there's only been hazard dredging in
this is dredging we're seeing behind us
this is threating yeah that's very
important the capacity of this channel
reduce a lot about 50 to 80 percent of
the capacity is gone because of the
sediments in the solid waste so it's so
it's now this channel is now operating
in only about 20% capacity that's true
and that translates to a flood one every
50 year to now one every two year one
every five years Indonesia has turned to
its former colonizers to help solve its
water problems hardly surprising given
that 70 percent of Holland is below sea
level Dutch engineers built this massive
flood gate 90 years ago it was placed in
1919 after the first big flood was
transported safely by this channel the
channel that starts from this cave
20 still is very important to keep the
either city of Jakarta safe
Jakarta is surrounded by hills but the
chronic pollution means you don't see
them from the city except on the
clearest of days in recent years trees
have made way for the rampant
development of holiday villas Hills
ability to absorb rainwater has been
radically reduced so now when it rains
swollen rivers are clogged with sediment
and garbage flood channels are
overwhelmed flood gates are useless
during a very high rainfall in the
mountains and the large floods the water
comes up to here and rushes into the
city and rushes into that side and the
whole area here gets flooded it is the
poor living in the slums alongside
Jakarta's waterways who are most
vulnerable flooding is a phenomena that
really pounds the poor they are the
people that live next to the River
embankments they're the people that live
on the coastal areas they are the
squatters living next to the to the
canals etc so they really really suffer
the mall because it's all full of
rubbish it's called sludge anjou ham
leads the World Bank team providing 150
million dollars in loans to help fix
jakarta's flood channels well I told you
there were two reasons why the flooding
is occurring one is because of urban
development the second is because too
much rubbish in the canals now look at
this canal flooding does not distinguish
between wealth and you have more and
more middle-class people that are
affected and in fact the richest of the
rich the most powerful person in
Indonesia the President himself gets
affected by flooding in the way we
commute to the office the roads all get
flooded
rich with their mercedes-benz are still
going to be dramatically affected by the
floods your immobilized in department on
the floods what you Tommy lives in a
flood prone area where she works nearby
as a housemate expatriates
she's been pressured to sell up her
house to make way for an upmarket
development next door when it rains a
lot near your house there's a flood of
here - it's all a flood yeah and you
think it'll be worse once the building
is finished
I'm not store I'm not sure
this development is an example of the
way jakarta's elites are avoiding the
city's water problems promises to be
flight proof when it's finished
command village will cater to every whim
of its 10,000 residents
this is the most exciting development at
Jakarta now probably becoming of the
town taking me on a tour is marketing
director
you'll be roughly all the site is twelve
hectare and this is part of the to a
factor is nine and a half Akhtar where
the first development that we're gonna
do we're gonna start with one big more
150,000 square meter and then 325 Suites
of hotel swimming pool a lot of swimming
pools to clubs and also we have a
wedding chapel we have school and we
will have hospitals everything
everything everything everything you
need is here that's why we call it
integrated development I think that is a
solution for what Jakarta people needs
eleven towers of luxury apartments all
sitting high and dry above the city's
flooding words to the live thing of the
building by columns underneath the water
can still pass through and being
absorbed to the ground to the whole
development who will sit down the plan
right
with no effective mass public transport
system traffic congestion in Jakarta
rates among the world's worst nine
hundred extra motorcycles and 260 new
cars are added to the roads every day
life in the city can be crazy when the
real world gets just too much Jakarta's
elites can always escape into expensive
malls like this one where every day's a
perfect day
or if you fancy a day at the seaside
five floors up try this place
and in other moles without even leaving
Jakarta you can travel the world
but this city's mall culture is not just
innocent escapism for those who can
afford it every one of them makes the
city heavier that's not a good thing
because Jakarta is sinking the cause is
groundwater extraction fewer than half
of Jakarta's households have water on
tap the rest pump it up from underground
industrial users big malls and hotels
dig wells hundreds of meters deep
big buildings that use deep wealth are
big contributors to groundwater
extraction but above and beyond that
when a city develops the city gets
heavier and the combination of water
being extracted in creating vacuums in
the aquifer and the city getting heavier
pushes the city downwards the sinking
phenomenon now causes Jakarta to flood
on days when there's no rain at all on
the bright blue sky on June 14 2007
suddenly a whole North Jakarta got
flooded we were going towards Bali 2007
the last climate conference and this was
a real big flood in there and we could
not believe that this was climate change
actually the cycle of the Moon is far
more important causing these floods in
Jakarta and climate change Yahya
calculated that this flooding was
entirely predictable show us what he
meant and early May this year he
suggested we pay a visit to Jakarta's
Airport which runs along low-lying land
near the sea
and this is what we found flood waters
which were forcing travelers to abandon
their cars no choice
as the predictions proved correct
taqaddas administration began to take
notice the cycle of the moon and the
angle of the earth has caused king tides
since time began the difference now is
that as Jakarta sinks its slipping below
sea level
it was next predicted that Jakarta would
flood again in early June we headed to
the city's northern shores and found
that the message was getting through to
the poor people who live here
I tide was due at 10 o'clock at night
and work was underway to bolster the
seawall with sandbags
as the water went up news came through
that a shift in weather patterns way out
to sea meant that this night's rise
would be twenty centimeters less than
expected
this time Jakarta was lucky it was short
of a disaster but an ominous taste of
things to come the people living down
near the seawall have been lucky the
sandbags upheld it's a different story
up here there's been a breach and the
streets are flooded there's gonna gonna
have a look
we find the sea is rushing in much more
than the locals are used to from her
family shop as what he has spent her
whole life watching the waters come and
go vangelia haben Girma mange idea
semester don't all come on in sir madam
Wang let the gum Island palomino as the
ocean keeps coming the journey by B
check is the only way for as Watty to
get home safely
see is laughing in her door last year it
was less accommodating
no idiot this man Junior
Samantha lager so this has become normal
life for these people and it could
continue except for the fact that
Jakarta is now sinking up to 6
centimeters a year and sometimes more
now in 18 years time these king tides
will return in this entire area to
become uninhabitable the city is
expected to be about 1 meter lower than
at the current position and that means
that she will come in permanently and
plus the first two three four kilometers
of the coastal area of Jakarta and we
expect that it could be completely
unbelievable and it's what more people
so got to live there if if nothing is
done
the choices are stark and none of them
are easy
either stop groundwater extraction or
build a massive sea wall off Jakarta's
coast if not millions of people will be
permanently displaced
and if see flooding coincides with heavy
rains in Jakarta and the surrounding
hills things will be even worse the
perfect storm if you will the perfect
combination of the most worst-case
scenario that Jakarta can in Europe so
we are very concerned with with what
will happen in the next 10 to 18 years
this is the famine from the sea but when
that combines with a flood during the
wet season like the floods that we saw
in 2007 and 2002 and 1996 real big
floods this will bring disaster to
Jakarta and affect millions and millions
of people
a lack of planning and maintenance has
placed Indonesia's capital in this
precarious position
now it's up to the city's administration
to quickly settle on solutions
without action almost a third of Jakarta
will be lost to the sea within the next
20 years
you
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