Flooding Submerges Semarang's Northern Coast Road, Causing 15-Kilometre Traffic Jam
A stretch of the Northern Coast (Pantura) Road from Kilometre 7 to 9 on Jalan Raya Kaligawe, Genuk District, Semarang, has been submerged by flooding.
The inundation severely disrupted traffic flow, triggering vehicle queues stretching over a dozen kilometres. A number of vehicles, particularly motorcycles, were reported to have stalled due to the depth of the water.
Genuk Police Chief Kompol Rismanto explained that the flooding was caused by the Kali Babon river overflowing after receiving water from upstream areas.
“The flooding occurred because the Kali Babon overflowed, with water flowing down from the Ungaran area (Semarang Regency) following heavy rain overnight,” Rismanto said on Monday (16 February).
He noted that the inundation affected the southern lane, which carries traffic from Demak towards Semarang. As a result, vehicles travelling from Demak were backed up for a considerable distance.
“The flooded section extends for 2 kilometres in the direction from Demak to Semarang. The traffic jam in Demak stretched approximately 15 kilometres at around 10.15 local time,” Rismanto said.
Water levels were reported to have reached approximately 50 centimetres. The conditions made it difficult for many motorcyclists to pass through, with some vehicles stalling in the middle of the floodwater.
Meanwhile, the Tembalang area of Semarang was also struck by flooding as a result of heavy rain.
The Semarang City Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) recorded that hundreds of residents were affected by the flooding.
Head of the Semarang City BPBD, Endro P Martanto, said the flooding occurred in the early hours of the morning, at around 02.00 local time. The drainage system was unable to cope with the volume of water.
“Heavy rainfall of moderate to high intensity across the Semarang city area overwhelmed the drainage system’s capacity, causing water to overflow and inundate residential areas,” Endro said in his report.
Several affected locations included Argo Residence, Grand Batik Semarang, Grand Permata Tembalang, Dinar Indah Housing Estate RW 26 in Meteseh, and RW 1 in Rowosari Sub-district. Grand Permata Tembalang in Tembalang District was among the worst-affected areas.
“At Argo Residence, flooding submerged RT 7 and RT 8 of RW 7, affecting a total of 50 households or 160 people. Meanwhile, at Grand Batik Semarang, 13 households or 33 people were affected,” he said.
At Dinar Indah Housing Estate RW 26, Meteseh Sub-district, Tembalang District, 31 households were recorded as affected. In RW 1 of Rowosari Sub-district, approximately 200 households or 500 people were affected.