Asia News Wrap: Jakarta and suburbs swamped by floods, and more

Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.

Floods kill one and displace thousands in Indonesia's capital

A little girl was killed and thousands of people were evacuated in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, on Tuesday after floods swamped the city. Torrential rain since Monday triggered floods of up to 3 meters in and around Jakarta, the country's disaster agency said in a statement. 

Weather modification operations were launched to reduce excessive rainfall, including deploying sodium chloride into rain clouds. "Hopefully, with the weather modification, we can reduce it," said Dwikorita Karnawati, head of Indonesia's weather agency, on Tuesday.

29 injured after jets drop bombs in civilian area in South Korea

Twenty-nine people were injured in South Korea on Thursday after bombs dropped by fighter jets landed in a civilian district, damaging houses and a church during military exercises in Pocheon, the Air Force and the fire department said. 

Two South Korean fighter jets mistakenly dropped eight air-to-surface bombs on a civilian town on Thursday. The injured include 15 civilians and 14 soldiers. Pocheon is about 40 kilometers northeast of Seoul.

Thailand drops plans to limit casino access to citizens with $1.5 million in assets

Thailand has dropped plans to limit casino access to citizens with assets of at least $1.5 million because it would exclude too many people, a deputy finance minister said on Monday. Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat told reporters that the draft law now proposes that Thai nationals with a three-year tax history will be able to enter the planned casinos instead of being required to have held at least 50 million baht ($1.5 million) in fixed deposits for six months.

A proposed casino entry fee of 5,000 baht remains in the draft law, which will be submitted to cabinet for approval and then sent to parliament before the current session ends on April 11, he said. The country hopes to attract at least 100 billion baht in new investment, increase foreign tourists by 5 to 10 percent and generate revenue of more than 12 billion baht a year.

Militants kill 18 in attack on Pakistani military base

Eighteen people were killed in a suicide attack on a military base in Bannu, northwestern Pakistan, on Tuesday. Suicide bombers drove two vehicles packed with explosives into the base. At least five soldiers and 13 civilians were killed after insurgents detonated explosive-laden vehicles and engaged in clashes with security forces. 

The Pakistani military stated that all 16 attackers, including four suicide bombers, were eliminated. It said that the multiple blasts caused damage to a nearby mosque and residential building.

High temperatures shut down schools in Philippines

High temperatures shut down schools in nearly half the Philippines' capital region on Monday, following the start of the dry season. A national weather service advisory warned that the heat index – a measure of air temperature and relative humidity – was set to reach "danger" levels in Manila and two other adjoining cities. The advisory said "heat cramps and heat exhaustion are likely" at that level, warning residents in affected areas to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun. 

Metro Manila, the capital region, has a student population of more than 2.8 million. In Malabon City, north of Manila, Education Ministry official Edgar Bonifacio said the suspensions affected more than 68,000 students across 42 schools.

(Cover: An aerial picture shows a flooded residential area after rivers overflowed following heavy rain in Bekasi, a suburb of Jakarta, on March 5, 2025. /CFP)