Indonesia Seeds Clouds to Block Rain from Flooded Capital
2020-01-04
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1Indonesia's air force has seeded clouds with salt in an effort to stop rain from falling on the flooded capital, Jakarta.
2The seeding operation follows deadly flash floods and landslides that hit the capital after some of the heaviest rain ever recorded.
3Indonesian officials said that as of Friday, at least 43 people had been killed in the disaster.
4Tens of thousands of people have been displaced.
5Cloud seeding is a process that involves shooting salt into clouds in an attempt to create artificial rain.
6It is often used in Indonesia to help put out forest fires.
7The current operation aims to get the clouds to drop water and break up before they reach Jakarta.
8Indonesia's air force teamed up with the country's technology agency to carry out three rounds of cloud seeding on Friday.
9Officials said more cloud seeding would take place as needed.
10The latest flooding followed heavy rainfall on December 31 and into the early hours of New Year's Day.
11The water covered large areas of Jakarta and nearby towns.
12The area is home to about 30 million people.
13The start of 2020 weather was "one of the most extreme rainfall" events since record keeping began in 1866, Indonesia's weather agency said Friday.
14The officials said climate change had increased the risk of extreme weather.
15They warned that heavy rainfall could reach a high point in mid-January and should be expected to last until mid-February.
16News videos showed floodwaters spreading across Jakarta.
17Images showed groups of people walking through water and mud-covered cars, some of them sitting on top of each other.
18President Joko Widodo blamed delays in flood control projects for the disaster.
19Among the projects is the building of a canal that has been delayed since 2017 because of property right issues.
20In 2007, more than 50 people died in one of the capital's deadliest flood disasters.
21In 2015, floodwaters covered much of the city center after canals overflowed.
22Jakarta has been slowly sinking.
23A main cause is the amount of ground water being drawn out from under the city.
24Rising sea levels have made the threat of flooding even worse.
25Last year, Widodo announced he would move Indonesia's capital to East Kalimantan province on Borneo island to reduce the burden on overpopulated Jakarta.
26I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Indonesia's air force has seeded clouds with salt in an effort to stop rain from falling on the flooded capital, Jakarta. 2The seeding operation follows deadly flash floods and landslides that hit the capital after some of the heaviest rain ever recorded. 3Indonesian officials said that as of Friday, at least 43 people had been killed in the disaster. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced. 4Cloud seeding is a process that involves shooting salt into clouds in an attempt to create artificial rain. It is often used in Indonesia to help put out forest fires. The current operation aims to get the clouds to drop water and break up before they reach Jakarta. 5Indonesia's air force teamed up with the country's technology agency to carry out three rounds of cloud seeding on Friday. Officials said more cloud seeding would take place as needed. 6The latest flooding followed heavy rainfall on December 31 and into the early hours of New Year's Day. The water covered large areas of Jakarta and nearby towns. The area is home to about 30 million people. 7The start of 2020 weather was "one of the most extreme rainfall" events since record keeping began in 1866, Indonesia's weather agency said Friday. The officials said climate change had increased the risk of extreme weather. They warned that heavy rainfall could reach a high point in mid-January and should be expected to last until mid-February. 8News videos showed floodwaters spreading across Jakarta. Images showed groups of people walking through water and mud-covered cars, some of them sitting on top of each other. 9President Joko Widodo blamed delays in flood control projects for the disaster. Among the projects is the building of a canal that has been delayed since 2017 because of property right issues. 10In 2007, more than 50 people died in one of the capital's deadliest flood disasters. In 2015, floodwaters covered much of the city center after canals overflowed. 11Jakarta has been slowly sinking. A main cause is the amount of ground water being drawn out from under the city. Rising sea levels have made the threat of flooding even worse. 12Last year, Widodo announced he would move Indonesia's capital to East Kalimantan province on Borneo island to reduce the burden on overpopulated Jakarta. 13I'm Bryan Lynn. 14Reuters news agency reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 15We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 16________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18displace - v. to be driven out of a place 19canal - n. an artificial river built for boats to travel along or to take water where it is needed