Flood in Jakarta (Source: Antara) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia has spent around 20 billion rupiah (1.43 million USD) on a weather modification programme since the beginning of 2020 in order to deal with serious floods in Jakarta.
Tri Handoko Seto, Head of the Weather Modification Technology Unit (BBTMC) under the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency (BPPT), said that the funds in conducting cloud seeding are sourced from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
The costs are distributed to a number of expenses such as costs to operate the Indonesian National Armed Forces’ airforce and BPPT airplanes, fuel, and NaCl salt for the cloud seeding, he stated.
The official duration for BPPT’s cloud seeding operation started in January and ended on March 1. However, the agency said they are experimenting with alternatives other than cloud seeding such as using flares that do not force clouds to drop its moisture but to eliminate the clouds' formation.
Low-lying Jakarta is prone to flooding during the wet season which starts around November. Torrential rain in January triggered flooding and landslides that claimed nearly 70 lives in and around Jakarta while thousands more were forced to evacuate to shelters./.
VNA
