Flooding on the Jakarta–Tangerang Toll, Several Water Pumps Activated

The Jakarta–Tangerang Toll road, spanning almost one kilometre, was flooded as high water from the Kali Sabi inundated the section from KM 23+200 to KM 24 on Sunday (8 March). This caused severe traffic congestion for vehicles travelling from Jakarta to Tangerang since the early hours of Sunday.

The flooding occurred due to the Kali Sabi overflowing after heavy rain that had drenched the area since Saturday night. The floodwater measured from KM 23+200 to KM 24, with depths ranging from 30 to 50 centimetres.

According to CNNIndonesia.com monitoring, several Jasa Marga toll maintenance officers deployed three pump trucks to accelerate water drainage.

In addition, a number of water pumps that had previously been padlocked had to be forcibly opened to maximise the drainage process.

Widyo, a Jasa Marga maintenance official, said the floods occurred due to heavy rainfall intensity and their duration. Jasa Marga staff carried out initial steps to localise the flooded area and pump out water using the pumps.

“The floods were caused by heavy and prolonged rainfall. To speed up the drying process, all pumps were activated, with three additional pump trucks,” Widyo stated.

Meanwhile, Ismadi, a truck driver, reported being stuck in traffic since early Sunday morning and, fatigued, was forced to pull his truck onto the road shoulder to rest.

“Yes, it has been jammed since 2 a.m., the cause is that the toll road is flooded,” he said.

After the pumps started operating, the floodwater on the Jakarta–Tangerang toll road began to recede and traffic gradually returned to normal.

Separately, floods struck nine sub-districts in Tangerang Regency on Sunday (8 March) after heavy rains had fallen since Saturday night.

According to provisional data from the Tangerang Regency Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), floods occurred at 13 points across nine districts.

Ahmad Taufik, head of the BPBD Tangerang Regency, said the flooded areas included Kelapa Dua, Tigaraksa, Rajeg, Kronjo, Pasar Kemis, Sepatan, Sepatan Timur, Kresek, and Sindang Jaya.

“Based on provisional data, the flooding is spread across nine sub-districts in Tangerang Regency,” Taufik said on Sunday.

He explained that water depths varied from around 20 centimetres to as much as 1.5 metres in some locations.