Affected areas included West Lampung, Cilacap, and Banjarnegara, in addition to areas struck by flash floods resembling Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
Subsequent disasters had been additionally reported in different components of the nation, together with West Java, Banten, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Sitaro in North Sulawesi, and West Halmahera in North Maluku.
The chance of main disasters should even be thought of in densely populated areas resembling Jakarta and the encompassing agglomeration of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (collectively referred to as Jabodetabek).
In response to the United Nations’ World Urbanization Prospects 2025, Jakarta is now the world’s most populous metropolis, with 42 million residents.
Its inhabitants density surpasses that of Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Tokyo (Japan).
Jakarta itself covers 661.5 km² with a density of 16,937 folks per km² (BPS, 2021).
In the meantime, the Jabodetabek area spans 6,437.89 km²—simply 0.34% of Indonesia’s land space—but hosts an infinite focus of individuals, heightening catastrophe dangers.
Fast financial progress in Larger Jakarta has fueled huge urbanization, resulting in intensive building of housing, places of work, enterprise districts, and procuring facilities.
This enlargement has lowered inexperienced open areas, which function the town’s “lungs” and water catchment areas.
Poor drainage techniques and undisciplined city planning have additional weakened the area’s environmental resilience.
Traditionally, many areas in Jabodetabek had been swamps, which performed important hydrological roles: absorbing extra rainwater, stopping floods, releasing water throughout dry seasons, and replenishing groundwater.
Place names resembling Rawamangun, Rawasari, Rawalumbu, Rawajati, Rawabening, Rawa Buaya, Rawadomba, Rawa Buntu, Rawa Bambu, and Rawa Lele mirror this heritage.
Sadly, most of those areas have been transformed into dense residential and business zones, stripping them of their ecological features.
Jakarta’s low-lying and gently sloping topography makes it extremely liable to flooding.
Historic data verify this vulnerability.
The Tugu inscription from the Tarumanagara Kingdom within the fifth century AD, found in 1887 in North Jakarta, paperwork King Purnawarman’s orders to dredge rivers to mitigate flooding.
Through the Dutch East Indies period (1872–1918), Batavia (Jakarta) suffered main floods that inundated almost your complete metropolis, together with Weltevreden—now Sawah Besar, Gambir, and Lapangan Banteng.
Past flooding, Larger Jakarta additionally faces seismic dangers.
The Baribis Fault, an lively thrust fault stretching from Cirebon to Jakarta and Bogor, poses a severe risk because of its shallow earthquake hypocenters.
On August 20, 2025, a 4.9 MMI earthquake in Bekasi highlighted this hazard, even disrupting seven schedules of the Whoosh high-speed prepare.
Equally, the Depok Blind Thrust, a part of the West Java back-arc thrust system, runs beneath southern Jakarta and has traditionally triggered main earthquakes in 1699, 1780, and 1834.
Jakarta can be weak to potential megathrust earthquakes, which might trigger catastrophic injury.
Key Options
To anticipate catastrophe dangers within the Larger Jakarta agglomeration, the federal government should first strengthen river basin administration throughout upstream, midstream, and downstream areas.
Jakarta is traversed by 13 rivers, a lot of which overflow throughout heavy rains, contributing to extreme flooding.
Efficient watershed administration, mixed with measures to anticipate tidal floods, is crucial to scale back the town’s vulnerability.
Equally vital is the enforcement of disciplined spatial planning.
Violations of zoning rules, significantly in watershed and swamp areas, have worsened Jakarta’s publicity to disasters.
A stricter strategy to spatial planning would assist restore environmental resilience and be certain that improvement doesn’t compromise the town’s potential to soak up water or face up to shocks.
One other precedence is the analysis of all buildings and infrastructure to make sure they meet security requirements towards earthquakes.
Given the presence of lively faults such because the Baribis Fault and the Depok Blind Thrust, structural resilience is important to stop widespread collapse throughout seismic occasions.
Alongside this, evacuation routes and shelters should be ready in each sub-district to supply secure havens for residents throughout emergencies.
The federal government should additionally develop built-in methods to deal with simultaneous disasters.
Floods, tidal floods, fires, and earthquakes usually overlap, creating advanced emergencies which might be troublesome to handle.
A coordinated response plan would enable authorities to mobilize sources extra successfully and reduce casualties.
Lastly, catastrophe literacy amongst residents should be constantly strengthened.
Public consciousness campaigns, schooling from an early age, and multi-stakeholder involvement are important to constructing a tradition of resilience.
Communities that perceive dangers are higher outfitted to reply shortly and cut back losses.
Indonesia can draw classes from Japan, the place excessive public consciousness has persistently minimized casualties throughout disasters.
Larger Jakarta should start constructing this tradition of preparedness now, earlier than the subsequent main catastrophe strikes.
*) Andre Notohamijoyo is Help Deputy of Catastrophe Threat Discount, Coordinating Ministry of Human Growth and Cultural Affairs
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