Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is home to more than 10 million people. However, it is now the fastest-sinking city in the world, according to recent studies. If nothing is done immediately, parts of the city may be submerged by 2050.
Jakarta is sitting on swampy land, with 13 rivers running through it and the Java Sea lapping against it. This is the reason why Jakarta is often flooded, and according to scientists, it will get worse in the decades to come. But the main issue is not the massive floods but is that the city itself is slowly disappearing and becoming the next Atlantis.
In fact, it is already happening, because North Jakarta has sunk 2.5m in 10 years and it is still sinking as much as 25cm every year, and that is double than the average for coastal megacities. This means that almost half the city is now below sea level, and the impact is felt in North Jakarta.
In the district of Muara Baru in Jakarta, an entire building is abandoned. It was once a fishing company, but the veranda of the building's first flow is now the only functional part left.
The entire ground floor is submerged in stagnant floodwater. The land around the building is higher, so the water can't be drained naturally. Buildings that deeply sunk are rarely abandoned because owners will try to fix, rebuild, and find short-term remedies for their problem. But the most difficult part is stopping the soil from sucking the city down.
There is also an open-air fish market that is five minutes away from Muara Baru, and the walkways are like waves because they are now curving up and down; that is why people trip and fall. The water levels underground are slowly being depleted, so the ground that the locals walk on is shifting and sinking. This creates an unstable and uneven surface that can't be easily fixed.
Every year, the ground keeps sinking, and lots of locals are alarmed at what is happening to their city. Indonesian government officials have teamed up with scientists and experts to find a solution to this ongoing problem. One of the solutions that they've come up with is transforming the jungle-covered area of Borneo Island as the new capital city of Indonesia.
President Joko Widodo announced the relocation to the new capital. Borneo Island is near Balikpapan and Samarinda, two underdeveloped cities, and they are far from the crowded city, which has served as the country's financial hub since the 1940s. The Indonesian President stated that the relocation would be expensive, but it is necessary.
The rapid expansion in Jakarta has presented economic, environmental, and safety concerns. This has prompted the government to find a new place to relocate the locals and ease the strain on the metropolis.
