Why Jakarta is sinking 

Hello! We have translated subtitles available in Bahasa Indonesia. You can access them through the settings icon > Subtitles/CC Thanks for watching, and let me know what other colonial histories you want to see explained next in the comments. Thanks, Christina, Video Producer

Scientist: Jakarta is sinking! Indonesian media: Look what this celebrity is gonna do today!

as indonesian this particular problem never being aired in our national television, but foreign media always give a information about this problem maybe most of indonesian will never know about jakarta is sinking. so thank you Vox.

Floods? You mean the annual Jakarta public waterpark? It gets so popular we almost hold it every month now.

Melihat bapak2 ni kata “mahu kemana lagi”..hati saya jadi sayu😔..moga dipermudahkan semuanya..salam dari Msia🇲🇾..

How irony it is that "the city is sinking because the people living in it don't have enough water"

Indonesian government considering moving their capital. Indonesian Government: _We are gonna do what's in the profession called a dutch move._

That man said, We are a Trapped People. I cannot imagine the heartache and desolation of that. God help us as a people.

As someone who's Indonesian and has been to Jakarta multiple times, I can say the ground water pumping thing is accurate and has become a real problem. This definitely needs to reach to Jakarta at some point as news, but from what I've seen, it's been neglected for the longest time, and as long as you can make a living in Jakarta, nobody will care. People need to do something.

what saddens me is our national media doesn’t even produce such amazing educational video like this

As someone from Jakarta, we all know this is happening, but no one seems to care enough to do anything about it. It seems like foreign media cares more and we've just accepted defeat.

Thank you! As an Indonesian living in part of Jakarta, I'm concerned with the issue yet do not have the technical knowledge nor eloquence to explain the matter precisely. Thank you so much for the informative video :)

When the capital is in crisis, the politicians have a great response by moving the capital to a new city. Now the capital does not have a crisis. Egypt is doing the same thing too!

Even the Indonesian government acted like the Dutch: Shift the capital somewhere else and leave the citizens behind

As always the poor people are the ones that end up suffering.

Thank you for uploading this, indonesia usually just airs gossips about viral celebs for random reasons that arent really important. As an indonesian, who lives in jakarta, i didn't even know that this condition was happening in jakarta.. i feel kinda ashamed for not knowing this sooner. I also feel embaressed that my country usually just ignore these kinds of problems happening in our country.

I find it quite ironic that it's a dutch company that was hired to fix this problem

"we are moving the capitol of Indonesia" me: "we are moving the rich people again, good luck everybody else"

This is actually the first logical explanation of Jakarta's sinking problem I've heard of, and it's not even from Indonesian media. People here either blame a "mystical force" or a neighboring city. Thank you!

MALAY SUBTITLES Part 1 of 2 00:03 Ini adalah Masjid Waladuna di Jakarta. 00:06 Bumbungnya runtuh. 00:09 Lumut menutupi dinding. 00:10 Dan air laut mengalir di setiap sudut. 00:14 Kali terakhir orang bersolat di sini adalah pada tahun 2001, ketika ia berada di atas tanah. 00:19 Hari ini, ini adalah tanda amaran. 00:23 Ini menandakan apa yang dapat terjadi pada ibu negara Indonesia jika tidak segera berubah. 00:29 Kerana, walaupun Jakarta menghadapi permukaan laut yang sama naik 00:32 seperti bandar pesisir lain di seluruh dunia, 00:35 itu tidak seperti yang kita lihat di sini. 00:39 Jakarta semakin tenggelam. Dan sudah tenggelam selama beberapa dekad. 00:45 Kawasan biru ini menunjukkan berapa banyak bandar yang telah tenggelam sejak tahun 1970-an. 00:50 Semakin gelap kawasan itu, semakin banyak kawasan itu dijatuhkan. 00:53 Inilah seberapa banyak yang diturunkan hari ini. 00:56 Sebahagian besar tenggelam berlaku di sini, di pantai utara, 00:59 di mana Jakarta bertemu dengan Laut Jawa. 01:02 Di sini, tanah tenggelam sekitar 25 cm setahun, 01:06 merosakkan kawasan, merosakkan kediaman, 01:09 dan meningkatkan kehidupan orang, berulang-ulang kali. 01:24 Ramai penduduk di sini adalah nelayan, yang perlu tinggal di tepi pantai untuk mencari nafkah, 01:29 tetapi, lebih jauh di pedalaman, lebih dari 10 juta penduduk Jakarta juga berisiko. 01:36 Sebilangan besar bandar, dan rumah berjuta-juta orang, boleh berada di bawah air pada tahun 2050. 01:42 Jakarta duduk di dataran rawa, di tanah pesisir rendah. 01:46 Ia mempunyai 13 sungai yang mengalir melaluinya. 01:49 Tetapi alasan bandar itu tenggelam 01:51 sebenarnya kebanyakan orang di sini tidak mempunyai cukup air. 01:58 Sebilangan besar orang Jakarta tidak mempunyai akses ke air yang bersih dan berpaip. 02:01 Sebaliknya, mereka mendapatkan air dengan menggali sumur seperti ini. 02:05 Pam masuk jauh ke dalam tanah untuk mengeluarkan air yang tersimpan di akuifer, 02:10 lapisan batu bawah tanah yang menahan air bawah tanah. 02:13 Ruang batu berliang dipenuhi dengannya. 02:16 Gandakan ini dengan beberapa juta, dan anda menghadapi masalah. 02:20 Fikirkan batu itu sebagai span yang direndam: 02:23 semakin banyak air diekstrak, semakin banyak mengempis, 02:26 menyebabkan tanah menjadi padat dan runtuh, dan tanah di atasnya tenggelam. 02:32 Pam sahaja tidak boleh melakukan ini. 02:35 Walaupun beberapa lapisan bumi tidak akan dapat memulihkan airnya, 02:39 akuifer biasanya diisi semula secara semula jadi ketika hujan. 02:42 Tetapi di Jakarta, perkara itu menjadi semakin jarang. 02:46 Selama beberapa dekad, Jakarta telah berkembang dengan cepat, 02:50 dan kini ditutup dengan konkrit. 02:52 Jadi hujan yang biasanya memenuhi akuifer tidak dapat diserap. 03:01 Ia menjadi sangat teruk sehingga di kawasan pesisir terdedah kepada banjir, 03:05 seperti komuniti nelayan Muara Baru, 03:08 orang telah membina jambatan sementara untuk bergerak melalui kawasan kejiranan mereka. 03:12 Digabungkan dengan kenaikan permukaan laut, 03:14 ia juga menjadikan banjir ketika air pasang dan musim hujan jauh lebih berbahaya. 03:19 Seperti pada tahun 2007, ketika Jakarta mengalami salah satu banjir terburuk 03:24 dalam sejarah modennya. 03:26 Ribut dan pasang surut menyebabkan sungai dan terusan di sekitar bandar meluap, 03:31 membunuh 80 orang. 03:39 Maksim telah kehilangan rumahnya kerana tenggelam, 03:42 dan sekarang tidur di atas kapal nelayannya. 03:45 Dan Nondho terpaksa membina semula kediamannya beberapa kali. 04:01 Pengepaman air bawah tanah membahayakan keselamatan Jakarta. 04:05 Tetapi untuk memahami bagaimana ia memasuki situasi ini sebagai permulaan, 04:09 anda mesti kembali berabad-abad. 04:14 Pada tahun 1600-an, ketika kuasa Eropah menjajah dunia, 04:17 Belanda mengambil alih bandar pelabuhan Jayakarta ketika itu. 04:22 Mereka merobohkannya ke tanah, dan di tempatnya, dibangun Batavia: 04:26 markas bagi kerajaan mereka yang semakin meningkat. 04:28 Mereka mula menguasai Indonesia, 04:30 Orang Cina, India, dan Arab yang tinggal di sana selama berabad-abad, 04:35 dan membina bandar baru mereka dengan gaya Belanda, 04:37 dengan rumah bandar yang sempit di sepanjang terusan. 04:41 Terusan tersebut digunakan untuk perdagangan, pertahanan, dan untuk membuat Batavia merasa seperti kota Belanda. 04:47 Tetapi lihatlah Batavia dari atas, 04:49 dan anda dapat melihat grid bandar juga mempunyai tujuan yang lebih gelap. 05:16 Sekiranya anda melihat dengan teliti, anda akan melihat bahawa tidak ada banyak jambatan 05:19 antara dua sisi, atau di antara blok. 05:23 Ini berdasarkan reka bentuk. Belanda lebih banyak. 05:27 Oleh itu, untuk mengawal penduduk tempatan, mereka membahagikannya. 05:31 Ia kelihatan seperti ini. 05:33 Hampir setiap kumpulan terbatas di kawasan bandar mereka. 05:38 Belanda memerintah penduduk tempatan seperti ini selama lebih dari satu abad. 05:42 Tetapi itu mula berubah pada pertengahan tahun 1700-an. 05:47 Kerana Belanda tidak menjaga terusan dengan betul, mereka mulai merosot, 05:51 dan sedimen dari gempa bumi menyekat aliran air. 05:54 Air di terusan berubah-ubah, dan tidak lama lagi, boleh membawa maut. 06:13 Ketika penyakit merebak melalui saluran, 06:15 Belanda yang kaya berpindah ke selatan Batavia, 06:17 di mana mereka mula mengembangkan pusat pentadbiran kolonial baru. 06:21 Tetapi, di sebalik kematian dan penyakit, Belanda terus membiarkan terusan tidak dirawat.

i really like this, y'all really did the research so good! thank you Vox

Jakarta took being a part of SEA literally

Watching this while reading "flooding" is trending again on twitter.

Basically Dutch came not only with their design, weapons and transport also with their sinking problem

I only knew about Jakarta sinking in 2015 (when I was 15). As an internet addicted teen, I happened to come across an international news article and also some RU-vid videos explaining about it as well, how the foundation keeping Jakarta from sinking collapsing due to digging illegal wells. The sinking didn't happen now, it has been happening over decades but it's ironic that news about Jakarta sinking and government's plans to move the capital city to Borneo happened to gain popularity only around 2019. The awareness of this urgent matter comes extremely late to the locals. Now it's all forgotten again and everyone in Jakarta here put it in the back of their minds lol. i'm in north of jakarta weeee one day i'll wake up floating

Jakarta: sinks The government: Aight, Imma head out.

the way this was posted while jakarta is literally drowning with floods because of high rain intensity for the last couple of days.... edit: i hope everyone stay safe😔

I am studying Jakarta for my research as minor comparison with Shanghai especially in terms of land subsidence control, underground space tunneling, rapid urbanisation and economic impact externalities spatial model. I really hope my study will open up new possibilities, insights and solutions to these worsening issues of Jakarta.

Been watching similar vids on this subject ie sinking cities, ground subsidence. Very important message for the humankind to learn on how development brought such detrimental effects to future state.

Jakarta: Sinks Indonesia: we're moving our capital to Borneo Borneo: *sweats profusely*

Jakarta: *flooding* The government: we are not flooding, those are just massive puddles of water.

Imagine live in a country where water is the problem in every way

Yeah, blame the Dutch like always. The Dutch were able to save their entire country from sinking by concentrated tedious effort of the whole nation. Indonesia is independent since 1940s, long enough to build a pipeline system in Jakarta etc. But I guess it's easier to watch sinetrons and complain about the Dutch who left 80 years ago.

and as indonesian students, we're all taught that the primary cause of floods is littering.

The government be like : pipe water? Nah, too expensive. Lets just move the capital to Borneo instead

I find it funny, and sad at the same time. Knowing that the government never addressed this issue as international media have done, I'm pretty sure that Indonesia is still far far far away from what we call "smart" journalism. When today, most of them only interest In politics or trash jokes...

Amazing ! Long time viewer of Vox. Totally blown away with Vox's content in 2021!

Actual solution: Provide piped water Answer provided by government: GIANT BIRD

This is shown how history repeats it self. “Leave it, and build another problematic city” . Ignorance at it’s finest.

Thank you, it is so sad for millions of people to suffer all this.

cool, more beach front property...great job, keep up the good work.

Government: Save jakarta to our grandchildren ❌ Let our grandchildren think about it ✔️

Jakarta: Is drowning/sinking Corrupt Officials: imma pretend i didn't see that

Even if they build a piped water system for everyone now, the sinking rate would decrease like a gentle curve. But this is a huge engineering problem, as you can't just build a pipe system in a soil that is moving so quickly and unevenly. It would cause the pipes to break, so in other words: The city is doomed as the solutions get harder to implement

Actually most politicians don't even care about this they just want money..

Jakarta - we are sinking Indonesia - it’s time to sink about the future Ps, i wish all Indonesians 100% safety and healthy!

Hi Vox, as an Indonesian and as a former resident of Jakarta, I cannot thank you enough that you brought up this topic to your platform. I sincerely hope this will raise more awareness and encourage policymakers to take concrete actions to tackle this issue. We really do not wish Jakarta to end up becoming a real Atlantis in an ironic sense.

Got what I needed in the first 3 minutes. Thanks!

Although I live in Semarang, I hope the government can get rid of this problem. Cuz if not, we'll be losing a huge territory. If Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Taipei can do it, so can we. if, the government can grasp on and sort out their priorities right

Jakarta: *Sinking* Government: we're not sinking, we're providing water for the 60%

As Jakartans I'm just feel sad because foreign media are much concern about our problem rather than our government officials

This!!! the explaination much better and makes sense

I can confirm that this is a problem, and it is flooding outside my house rn. I litterally plan to move outside if this keeps going on...

people in the future discovering remains of jakarta : "is this Atlantis?"

There is no more dangerous threat to a man than himself.

If not watching this video, people will continue to put blame on global warming only without realizing the root cause is not solved.

Jakartans: We need piped water. Government: Best I can do is a giant bird.

Another thing the Indonesians inherited from the Dutch: sinking land.

Jakarta : we're sinking, some people lost their homes Government : oh no, anyway- Shame

The impact of colonialism over the ENTIRE world is profound

Thank you, Vox

the year is 2052 and Jakarta is now called Atlantis 2.0

i'm an Indonesian myself but I didn't know the reason why Jakarta's sinking, I literally thought it's bc of the sea itself but it turns out that it's ourselves who actually made this sinking Jakarta.

you got my support

Brilliant content, @Vox! as always. Please dubbed into Bahasa Indonesia language so more ordinary Jakartans will be able to realize this matter. Still, thanks for the subtitles. Watching this really struck me personally. I was born and have lived in Jakarta for almost my entire life. Safe to say that Jakarta is less livable and getting more crowded over years. I think it's sadly beyond repair. wishing to move to the new proposed capital in Borneo.

Jakarta's clean water has been privatized since 1993. There's now talks about ending the privatization.

People: "The city is sinking!" Them: "Let's make a birb land"

Not just about piped water provision but the solution is also about lesser concretization of the city. Concrete is causing the same problem of flooding in so many cities. The piped water that the govt provides might also be sourced from ground water, so that's not the end of the matter.

10:13 i'm so sad when i hear this line, that means Jakara (which is my capital city) was almost 50 years behind Tokyo.

I'm Indonesian, and my friend is a reporter. She was told to never report about Jakarta sinking. :/

"It's only called a flood when your roof is below the water." - Jakarta's Governor -

9:33 I feel bad to realize that some projects are taking long term to complete and tend to forget its first intention. Anyway thank you for the well explanation.

In 30 years the saying “There are many fish in the ocean” in Jakarta will be wrong figuratively and literally

So they're going to make a bird-shaped island that takes 30 years to complete (if ever undertaken), instead of giving them piped water?

Meanwhile Jakarta is being flooded right now. The timing of this video is...something.

Indonesia already has a plan to solve it, but the implementation is very hard. especially in the political season. Better to choose sweet promises unrealized than harsh reality.

Makanya ya jadi pemerintah teh tanggung jawabnya gede banget, kalo buat kesalahan/kekeliruan sehingga merugikan orang lain bahkan sampai memakan waktu yang sangat lama kayak gini tuh bikin merinding. Semoga Allah selalu melindungi hamba-Nya dimana pun berada🖤

The government did care, when the presidential palace got flooded as well.

I am hearing about a problem that has not been created by the British. Amazing.

I'll pray for Jakarta from Canada

I have to say; to blame it on the Dutch empire is a little bit far fetched. They wanted independent and after 70 years the problem hasn't been solved and the canals are still not being maintained.

As indonesian, it hurt to know this truth and it hurt MORE when the government act like Elsa, Can hear us but won't

our government always talking about something unnecessary. forgetting their own people suffering from poverty and natural disaster. what a shame

It's really sad and depressing to lose any more land to the ocean

Wow it’s already been a year since this video was released...so quick!

harusnya dokumentasi2 kayak gini yg sering diputar di tv indonesia bukan sinetron, gosip, wawancara viral2 gajelas.. kayak gini bikin orang2 melek kalo indonesia masalahnya banyak

The cruel but realistic way to solve out the issue is to evacuate settlers along the sea line to another city: otherwise... Jakarta will burden all the damage loss. I feel sorry for Jakartians.

this breaks my heart

terima kasih 💝

The problem is that every change of leader the previous leader's plan is not implemented and is replaced with a new plan.

Let’s build a giant bird shaped island to temporarily bandaid the problem. What build pipes? Out of the question.

Mexico City faces a similar problem, except that its built on a lake and not on the sea. They have to pump water from reservoirs under the city that would have originally been lakewater, which is making the city sink year by year.

me litteraly watching this in Jakarta

If they’re willing and able to build a giant floating bird, why not just make water pipes?

Jakarta: *sinks* The gov who move to borneo: *a d i o s*

This is such a fascinating video to me. I hope the people of Jakarta can receive some much-needed help in the future, preferably soon.

People in ancient/past Jakarta and Mexico City: Let's build our capital in a swamp/marsh. We're sure nothing wrong is gonna happen.

Kenapa ga ada yg membahas tentang itu di Indonesia?

Country: has a problem Government: *automaticslly builds wall*

Is building water pipe system that hard and that expensive ?? We live in 2021 and this city doesn't have a watering system 😕