Indonesia ? Indonesia’s environment minister said Tuesday that global warming was to blame after the capital of Jakarta was partially flooded, forcing thousands of people to flee homes and cutting off a highway to the international airport.

Authorities used pumps to lower water levels, which reached six feet in the worst-hit areas and washed more than a mile inland Monday, said Iskandar, an official at Jakarta’s flood crisis center. At least 2,200 houses were inundated, some with chest-deep water.

Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said global warming was at least partially to blame, causing sea levels to rise and making coastal cities like Jakarta especially vulnerable to flooding and monsoon storms.

Authorities also ignored warnings about exceptionally high 18-year tide cycles, flood expert Jan Japp Brinkman told the Jakarta Post newspaper, and the situation was exacerbated by the failure to fix a sea barrier breached over a week ago.