Flooding may hit Jakarta next week: Weather agency<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jakartans may need more than umbrellas next week, with the
\nMeteorological and Geological Agency (BMG) warning that floods
\ncould hit a number of areas in the capital.<\/p>\n
The city could experience three consecutive days of more than
\n100 millimeters of rain next week. With such intensity,
\ninundations were likely to occur in the city's flood-prone areas,
\nAchmad Zakir, head of the BMG's weather forecasting division,
\nsaid on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"We are warning the people of Jakarta, particularly those who
\nlive in flood-prone areas, to anticipate possible flooding next
\nweek, because based on our forecasts the intensity of the
\nrainfall will increase,\" Zakir told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
People should also be prepared to spend much more time on the
\nroad, because if it does flood the city will certainly experience
\nheavy traffic congestion.<\/p>\n
Numerous city officials have acknowledged that flooding will
\nremain a major problem in Jakarta over the next several years,
\nbecause the available flood control system is unable to cope with
\nthe water. The Eastern Flood Canal, designed to ease flooding in
\nthe capital, has been repeatedly delayed because of financial
\ndifficulties.<\/p>\n
The head of the City Public Works Agency, IGKG Suena, said
\nflood control projects carried out by his agency last year would
\nonly ease the problem in five of 78 flood-prone areas in the
\ncity.<\/p>\n
Zakir said serious flooding could occur in areas near the
\ncity's 13 main rivers, which will be swollen both by rainfall in
\nJakarta as well as rain in upper areas like Bogor and Depok in
\nWest Java and Tangerang in Banten.<\/p>\n
He said the expected increase in rainfall next week would be
\nthe result of strong winds flowing across the Indian Ocean, known
\nin Indonesia as the West Wind.<\/p>\n
The winds, pushing thick clouds across the Indian Ocean, will
\nflow over the western part of Java island and some parts of
\nSumatra island.<\/p>\n
According to Zakir, the temperature of the sea surface will
\nreach 29 degrees Celsius, from a normal temperature of 27 degrees
\nCelsius.<\/p>\n
\"Because of the warmer sea surface the water will evaporate
\nmore quickly. This will produce larger clouds which can produce
\nheavy rainfall,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Zakir, however, could not say if next week would be the peak
\nof the rainy season. He would only say that the rainy season in
\nthe city would be focused in January and February.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the head of Extreme Weather at the Indonesian
\nNational Institute of Aeronautics and Space, Rokhis Khomarudin,
\nsaid heavy rain was expected in many areas in the country,
\nparticularly in the eastern regions.<\/p>\n
According to Rokhis, the activities of a tropical cyclone in
\nthe Indian Ocean would move from western Indonesia to eastern
\nIndonesia, causing heavy rain in the eastern part of the country.
\nHowever, he said rain would continue to fall in western
\nIndonesian as well.<\/p>\n
He said rainfall in many parts of the country would be heavier
\nthan in previous days.<\/p>\n
Since the rainy season began, a number of areas, particularly
\nin western Indonesia, have been hit by serious flooding. Floods
\nhave occurred in Bandung, Jambi, Lampung, South Sumatra and East
\nJava.<\/p>",
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