City grinds to a standstill after tropical downpours<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Yesterday's torrents caused inundation in many
\nareas and left thousands stranded in bus shelters as traffic was
\nparalyzed.<\/p>\n
On main streets such as Jl. Gajah Mada, Jl. Merdeka Selatan,
\nJl. Thamrin, Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Gatot Subroto, vehicles crawled
\nas the street under Semanggi bridge was inundated.<\/p>\n
The flooding, with the water level reaching about 20
\ncentimeters high, occurred during the afternoon rush hour when
\nmany people were returning home from work.<\/p>\n
The condition worsened when radio frequencies used by police
\nwere disrupted by unauthorized people.<\/p>\n
The rain started in the afternoon and lasted until 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
A trip from Slipi to the Palmerah market, which normally takes
\n10 minutes, lasted 30 minutes.<\/p>\n
Many people chose to brave the rains rather than wait for
\npublic transportation.<\/p>\n
Gutters that were not large enough to accommodate water
\ncontributed to the flooded streets.<\/p>\n
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja urged Jakartans to participate in
\nhandling floods instead of merely considering floods as a routine
\noccurrence.<\/p>\n
\"Without public awareness ... all our programs in dealing with
\nfloods will not be effective,\" Surjadi said.<\/p>\n
He said the public should refrain from throwing garbage into
\nthe rivers or building homes on riverbanks.<\/p>\n
This year, the city's programs to anticipate floods, with the
\nsupport of the central government, include river dredging,
\nbuilding riverbanks, adding water pumps in low-level areas and
\npreparing flood gates in the rivers.<\/p>\n
The city allocated Rp 15 billion (US$6.52 million) to dredge
\n12 rivers, including the Ciliwung, Cideng and Grogol rivers,
\nwhile the central government dredged five rivers. (yns\/bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-grinds-to-a-standstill-after-tropical-downpours-1447893297",
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