Jakarta, IO – Climate change, accelerated by land subsidence and tidal flooding have made the sinking Pekalongan at risk of disappearing in 2035. National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) researcher Galdita A. Chulafak revealed that the rate of land subsidence in Pekalongan exceeds even Jakarta, reported Detik on Monday (7/11).
He predicted that the rate of land subsidence in the city averages 6 cm/year. “In fact, some areas of Pekalongan already have elevations below 0 masl (meter above sea level). We just need to calculate the estimates, for example, the highest elevation is 4 masl or 400 cm above sea level, divided by six, it is likely to sink entirely in about 66 years,” he said.
“If we use the worst-case scenario of 11 cm, all areas with an elevation of less than 1 meter will approximately sink in 9 years if no mitigation measures are taken,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pekalongan Development Planning Board (Bappeda) associate expert planner Slamet Miftakhudin revealed a projection that Pekalongan will be under water by 2035. “From the results of spatial inundation modeling in 2035, 90 percent of the city area will be submerged,” he said, adding that the percentage of residential areas affected by the flood (rob) will increase 100 times by then.