Indonesia's Jakarta hit by major power blackout

blackout

04 August 2019; DW: An electricity outage has hit most areas of the Indonesian capital and some neighboring provinces on Java island. The blackout happened two days after a 6.9 magnitude quake struck the heavily populated island.

Jakarta's new mass rapid transit (MRT) system had to be evacuated on Sunday after the Indonesian capital was hit by huge power cut.

The country's state electricity company PLN blamed problems at a number of power stations on Java island for the outage, which also affected several neighboring provinces.

PLN said the outage began at 11:50 a.m. local time (0450 UTC).

The power cut caused traffic lights to go out and left trains on the single line network stuck on tracks and in stations. The MRT system only opened in March to help improve the city's horrendous traffic problems. The KRL Commuterline railway network was also affected.

Communication services affected

Telekom Indonesia said the outage also left phone lines and internet services down or facing severe speed restrictions.

Local media put the number of people affected by the outage at more than 30 million. Jakarta has a population of 10 million and more than three times as many people live in surrounding provinces.

It wasn't immediately clear how long the disruption might last.

The heavily populated Java island was struck by a 6.9 magnitude quake on Friday night, triggering a brief tsunami warning.

The jolt left five people dead and was felt in Jakarta, prompting many residents to run into the streets for safety.