Drought Exposes Sunken Indonesian Village as Reservoir Waters Recede

A prolonged dry spell in Indonesia has dramatically lowered water levels in the Karian reservoir, exposing the skeletal remains of a village that was deliberately submerged less than a decade ago.

The ruins of Somang village, located in Lebak district in Banten province, have reemerged as the reservoir's waters have receded. Drone footage shows the outlines of houses, a mosque, and other structures breaking the surface, a ghostly reminder of the community that was relocated to make way for the dam project.

The Karian reservoir was constructed between 2015 and 2023 to supply water to the sprawling Greater Jakarta metropolitan area. The project required the flooding of the former residential area, displacing its inhabitants.

Now, four consecutive months without rainfall have exposed the old village site. For former residents like Hussen, the sight is a painful return to a lost way of life. "It used to be easy for us to make a living, but now it is difficult to earn an income," he said. "We used to grow our own rice, so we didn't have to buy it. Now we have to buy rice, and what used to be a situation where we didn't need to work, now we have to work harder."

Sukenah, another former resident, echoed the sentiment of loss. "Now I'm far from my relatives; back then, we lived under the same roof and were neighbors," she said. "Now I feel so much pain. My children are gone, my husband is gone, and my relatives are far away too."

The reappearance of the village is a stark visual indicator of the severity of the current drought. Erma Yulihastin, an expert on extreme weather and climate at Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency, warns that conditions are likely to worsen before they improve.

"Current predictions indicate that this is not the peak at all, because it has only just begun its 'super' phase," Yulihastin said, referring to the El Niño weather pattern. "We are expected to reach the peak, or head toward that maximum phase, sometime between November and December 2026, toward the end of the year."

While the drought poses a significant threat to water supplies across the region, Yulihastin noted that the impact will be uneven. "So, it is actually vulnerable in terms of drought as well," she said. "Although in terms of access, since it is the center of the economy, the financial hub, there probably won't be any problems."