By Berk Kutay Gokmen
ISTANBUL (AA) - Authorities in Indonesia have begun to seed clouds to stem heavy rain that has led to flooding around Jakarta after a toddler died and thousands have been displaced, media reports said Wednesday.
The heavy flooding, which began Monday, affected the capital city that is home to nearly 11 million residents, as well as neighboring towns, according to the Jakarta Post.
A 3-year-old girl died after heavy rain caused rivers to overflow, raising water levels by 3 meters (9.8 feet), and flooding more than 1,000 homes.
Authorities, estimating that severe weather conditions could last until March 11, decided to conduct cloud seeding in hopes of diverting rain from flood-stricken areas or draw rain from smaller clouds to prevent heavier rainfall later.
"Hopefully, with the weather modification, we can reduce it," said Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency. "We can't prevent the rain, that's impossible, but we can reduce the intensity."
Authorities will continue to conduct cloud seeding until Saturday.
Cloud seeding releases chemicals into clouds from aircraft to induce rain.