Residents wade through a flooded area in Jakarta yesterday.
DPA/Jakarta
Authorities in Jakarta will use cloud seeding to divert rain away from the Indonesian capital after days of heavy downpours caused floods, an official said yesterday.
More than 5,000 people were displaced by flooding in several areas in Jakarta yesterday.
Today, aircraft will start dropping salts onto clouds hovering above the sea to force rain before it can reach Jakarta, said Syamsul Maarif, head of the National Disaster Management Agency.
“Experience shows that weather modification technology is effective in reducing flooding,” he said.
Last year 26 people were killed during days of flooding in the capital.
Flooding is an annual occurrence in the sprawling city of more than 10mn people, despite pledges by successive governors to stop it.
About 40% of the city lies below sea level, made worse by clogged rivers, sewers and storm drains and poor city planning.