Semarang City Welcomes New Year 2023 As Floods Hit

Liputan6.com, Semarang - Far from new year's celebration, the capital of Middle Java, Semarang, is flooded again after heavy rain affected the region on Saturday. Area near governor's office also flooded.

The height of water varied in different areas. In Simpang Lima area, center of Semarang, the water was about 40-50 cm. Netizens also spread photos and videos of the severity of the floods.

As of Sunday morning (1/1/2022), the floods still disrupted the roads in the city, including railways in Tawang Station and Alastua stations.

Tawang is the biggest station in Semarang which connects to Jakarta in the west and Surabaya in the east. This station is located in the historic Old Town area.

As part of the solution, the state-owned Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) which manages the trains operations decided to make a detour for the trains via Balapan Station in Solo, southern of Semarang.

This is not the first flood in Semarang this year. The city was also flooded in the middle of 2022. Environmental group WALHI blames the local government for the lack of preparation and the buildings at the water catchment area. 

"The worsening climate crisis in the last few years causes the hydrometeorological disasters (floods, landslides, strong wind, etc) to increase, whether the quantity or the quality. Seeing the current disaster is proving the efforts for mitigating climate crisis in Semarang is still low," said WALHI of Middle Java on Twitter.

One citizen, Endah (63), who lives in Tlogosari said the flood was worse compared to the previous years. The water breached into her house, so she had to evacuate her household items.

Governor Ganjar Pranowo has informed the regents and mayors to stay alert and move fast to handle the floods in their respective regions. He also published a special New Year message for his followers on social media.