Indonesia seeds clouds to keep them away from flooded capital

A girl looks out between two tarps at a temporary shelter after floods in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana

Indonesia's air force seeded clouds with salt on Friday to try to stop rainfall reaching the slowing sinking capital after deadly flash floods and landslides triggered by some of the heaviest rain ever recorded.

The death toll in Jakarta and surrounding areas rose to 43 as of Friday, the disaster mitigation agency said, while tens of thousands of people have been displaced.

A man cleans up the clay after floods hit in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 3, 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Dhemas Reviyanto/ via REUTERS

Indonesia's technology agency BPPT and the air force carried out three rounds of cloud seeding on Friday, with more expected when needed, a BPPT official said.

The seeding, shooting salt flares in an attempt to trigger rainfall, is aimed at breaking up clouds before they reach Jakarta.

"We will do cloud seeding every day as needed," BPPT chief Hammam Riza told reporters.

People clean up the clay after floods hit in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 3, 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Dhemas Reviyanto/ via REUTERS

Cloud seeding is often used in Indonesia to put out forest fires during the dry season.

The floods followed torrential rains on Dec. 31 and into the early hours of New Year's Day that inundated swathes of Jakarta and nearby towns, home to about 30 million people.

The deluge at the start of 2020 was "one of the most extreme rainfall" events since records began in 1866, the Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said on Friday.

Police officers help people to get through an emergency bridge over the Cidurian river in Bogor, Indonesia, January 3, 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Arif Firmansyah/ via REUTERS

The agency said climate change had increased the risk of extreme weather and warned that heavy rainfall could last until mid-February, with Jan 11-15 an expected peak.

Television footage showed flood waters inundating parts of Southeast Asia's largest city and mud-covered cars, some piled on top of each other.

President Joko Widodo blamed delays in flood control infrastructure projects for the disaster, including the construction of a canal that has been delayed since 2017 due to land acquisition problems.

Displaced people because of the floods hide at a temporary shelter in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana

Widodo last year announced he would move Indonesia's capital to East Kalimantan province on Borneo island to reduce the burden on overpopulated Jakarta.

More than 50 people died in one of the capital's deadliest floods in 2007 and five years ago much of the centre of the city was inundated after canals overflowed.

Jakarta is sinking by several cm a year in northern parts, an official said in October, due to extraction of groundwater over the years causing layers of rock and sediment to slowly pancake on top of each other.

A child covers his face with a doll at a temporary shelter after floods in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana

(Additional reporting by Jakarta bureau; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; editing by Nick Macfie)

A woman carries a plastic bag containing food through the mud on a road after floods hit Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

A man carries his belongings at a flooded residential area in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Man covering his head with a bucket rides a motorbike, as he collects items at a residential area affected by floods in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

A mud print of a hand is pictured on a man's back, as he collects items at a residential area affected by floods in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

A man rides a motorbike through the mud after floods hit a residential area in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

People ride a motorbike at a residential area affected by floods in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Damaged bicycles and chairs are pictured after floods hit a residential area in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Woman carries cleaning equipment as she rides on a motorbike at a residential area affected by floods in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Media workers prepare cables outside a phone shop after floods at a residential area in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Men collecting damaged items ride on the back of a car through the mud, at a residential area affected by floods in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

A banner depicting animals is pictured as pet food lies around outside a pet shop, after floods at a residential area in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

People clean up the clay after floods hit Lebak Gendong, Banten, Indonesia, January 3, 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Weli Ayu Rejeki/ via REUTERS

Mannequin heads are pictured at a residential area flooded in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

A man looks at a car damaged by the flood at a residential area in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

A woman looks at her belongings as she sits outside her house at a flooded residential area in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Man carrying a washing machine rides a motorbike as he collects items at a residential area affected by floods in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Cars damaged by floods following heavy rains sit in floodwater in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 3 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/SHafidz Mubarak / via REUTERS

A man cleans up the clay after floods hit Jakarta, Indonesia, January 3 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Hafidz Mubarak/ via REUTERS

FILE PHOTO: Youth sits on a car at an area flooded after heavy rains in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 2, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

FILE PHOTO: Children play at an area flooded after heavy rains in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 2, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

FILE PHOTO: Rescue workers evacuate a woman at an area affected by floods after heavy rains in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 2, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan