Jakarta - Indonesia's weather modification operation to break
up clouds before they reach the capital Jakarta and cause flooding
has been successful, an official said Tuesday.
Floods and landslides that hit Jakarta and its satellite cities on
New Year's Day killed at least 67 people and displaced more than
36,000 others, the National Disaster Management Agency said.
Authorities started cloud-seeding operations by shooting salt flares
at clouds on the Java Sea and the Sunda Strait to induce rain over
waters off Java island on Friday.
"We managed to trigger rainfall in those areas, resulting in
reduced precipitation in the greater Jakarta area in terms of its
duration and intensity," said the head of the Agency for the
Application and Assessment of Technology (BPPT), Hammam Riza.
Two aircraft made 16 trips on Monday to disperse 26,600 kilograms of
salt used to induce rain, he said, adding that the operation would
continue as long as needed.
"Clouds are still forming and rain will still be expected in the
greater Jakarta area, but the intensity is too low to cause
flooding," Hammam said.
Heavy rain starting on New Year's Eve caused rivers to burst, sending
brown floodwaters to residential areas in the densely populated
metropolis, which is home to about 30 million people.
More than 60 people were killed in Jakarta and its surrounding areas.
The country's weather agency said the New Year's rainfall was the
most extreme seen since 1866.
Floods and landslides are common in Indonesia during the rainy
season.