Anies Claims Flood-Affected Area Reduced During His Term, Is It True?

Flooding has been a major problem in DKI Jakarta for decades. Former DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan claims that the area affected by major floods in the capital has decreased during his tenure.

According to Anies' report titled "Transformasi Jakarta 2017-2022: Gagasan, Narasi, dan Karya" (Jakarta Transformation 2017-2022: Ideas, Narrative, and Works), there were three major flood events in DKI Jakarta in the last decade.

The area submerged by major floods in the capital reached 4 square kilometers (km2) on February 20, 2021. The reported rainfall at that time was 226 millimeters (mm)/day.

Then, the area affected by major floods in DKI Jakarta reached 156 km2 on January 1, 2020, with rainfall of 377 mm/day.

Meanwhile, the area affected by major floods in the capital reached 240 km2 on January 17, 2013, with rainfall of 193 mm/day. This means that the area submerged by floods in the province in 2021 decreased by 99.33% compared to 2013.

“Even with more extreme rainfall, the impact of floods felt by residents and the post-flood recovery time improved in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2013,” said Anies, as quoted in his report.

Similarly, the number of community units (RW) affected by Jakarta floods has decreased. The number of RWs submerged by major floods in DKI Jakarta in 2013 was 599, in 2020 it was 390, and in 2021 it was 113.

After serving for 5 years, Anies Baswedan officially stepped down as Governor of DKI Jakarta on Sunday (October 16th). The capital is now led by Heru Budi Hartono as the Acting Governor until 2024.