Jakartans warned to be ready for huge flooding<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG)
\nwarned Jakartans yesterday to prepare themselves against the
\npossibility of massive flooding due to the impact of the La Nina
\nweather phenomenon.<\/p>\n
Agency head Sri Diharto said the flooding would likely be
\ncaused by heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, which will accentuate
\nthe transition from the dry to the rainy season.<\/p>\n
He said the rainy season in Jakarta was predicted to come
\nearlier than usual, possibly later this month or in September.<\/p>\n
\"Normally, the rainy season starts in Jakarta around October.
\nI'm not saying Jakarta will be drowned by the flooding, but still
\nprevention is the best choice,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said there was a strong tendency that the country would
\nexperience the La Nina phenomenon as was indicated by the
\nincrease of the south oscillation index to 15 from 10 in late
\nJuly.<\/p>\n
He said the tendency was shown in the decline of the
\ntemperature in the East and Central Pacific oceans by three
\ndegrees Celsius below the normal level of around 28 and 29
\ndegrees Celsius.<\/p>\n
Another sign of La Nina was the increase in the temperature
\nin the seas around Indonesia by between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius
\nabove the normal level of around 26 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n
\"The higher temperature will make clouds form more easily,\"
\nsaid Diharto.<\/p>\n
Diharto said the rain pattern in August and September would be
\nvery high in intensity but would take place over a short time.<\/p>\n
The intensity of the rain expected to fall in Jakarta would
\nexceed the normal level, said Diharto without further
\nelaboration.<\/p>\n
He said the flooding would be caused by heavy rainfall in
\nJakarta and spillover from intense rainfall in higher areas like
\nPuncak and Bogor.<\/p>\n
\"So, if several soothsayers foresee banjir bandang (massive
\nflooding) soon striking Jakarta and other big cities, I'd say
\nthat their predictions were quite logical,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He predicted that the intensity of the rainfall in Jakarta
\nwould likely peak in the third week of August.<\/p>\n
\"We've seen through the satellite data that the rainfall
\npattern for this week will still be about normal. The pattern
\nwill stay the same at least until Aug. 17.\"<\/p>\n
A source at the city public order office, who asked for
\nanonymity, said the administration had conducted preparations for
\nthe rainy season earlier than the ordinary schedule.<\/p>\n
He said the preparation included checking several facilities,
\nincluding dams, water gates and pumps, and an inventory of all
\nequipment, such as life jackets and rubber dinghies to be used in
\nflood rescue programs.<\/p>\n
He said the preparations were being hindered by the limited
\navailability of funds. \"We have Rp 500 million (US$38,500), far
\nless than required,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The source said that advanced preparation was very important
\nto anticipate flooding in what is expected to be a higher number
\nof areas than usual.<\/p>\n
The number of areas prone to flooding in the capital has been
\nincreased from an estimated 108 areas last year, he said without
\ngiving details.<\/p>\n
\"The number of flood spots will increase this year but we have
\nnot yet finished the calculation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that out of the 108 flooding black spots 28 were
\nlocated in North Jakarta, 25 in South Jakarta, 22 in West
\nJakarta, 19 in Central Jakarta and 14 in East Jakarta. (cst)<\/p>",
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