Pramono: Jakarta Flooding Cannot Be Eliminated; Sea Level Now Higher Than the Land in Jakarta

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung said that floods in Jakarta cannot be fully tackled even as river normalization continues. According to Pramono, normalization already undertaken on the Ciliwung River, Cakung Lama, and Krukut can only reduce flooding. ‘And if that can be addressed, it will reduce floods in Jakarta. But eliminating floods entirely in Jakarta is not possible,’ he said at Bundaran HI, Central Jakarta, Sunday 8 March 2026. ‘Because the sea surface level is now higher than the ground surface in Jakarta,’ he added. The Jakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) records that 75 neighbourhood associations (RTs) were flooded on Sunday. According to an official BPBD DKI Jakarta statement, the data reflect monitoring up to 08:00 WIB. BPBD DKI says floods in Jakarta were caused by heavy rainfall since Saturday night through Sunday early morning.