Jakarta's recurrent floods linked to infrastructure unable to handle extreme weather, says DKI Jakarta government

The Jakarta Water Resources Agency (SDA) has revealed that the city’s flood control infrastructure is still not fully capable of handling extreme rainfall. As a result, floods frequently occur in Jakarta even during short downpours.

Head of the Jakarta Water Resources Agency, Ika Agustin Ningrum, stated that the agency has various flood control infrastructure, including water pumps, river embankments, drainage channels, reservoirs, ponds, and retention basins. These facilities are designed to handle surface water runoff from rainfall up to specific capacities.

“The design capacity is determined by the probability of rainfall; in Jakarta, the design capacity used is 100-150 mm,” Ika said in Jakarta on Thursday, 28 May 2026.

However, she added, climate change in recent years has led to higher and more extreme rainfall of 150-250 mm, which directly causes flooding.

“Therefore, the current flood control infrastructure in Jakarta is effective for rainfall up to 100-150 mm, but higher rainfall requires larger infrastructure capacity,” Ika said.

According to Ika, enhancing flood control infrastructure requires significantly more land and construction costs. Nevertheless, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government continues efforts to tackle flooding in the capital, including deploying stationary and mobile pumps.