A wet start to the city's new year
M. Taufiqurrahman and Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Flooding dampened spirits for thousands of residents as they welcomed the new year in many parts of Jakarta in the wake of heavy downpour over the last few days as forecast earlier by the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG).
Water inundated substantial parts of the elite Pluit housing complex, Penjaringan, Kapuk Muara, Kamal Muara, Sunter and Kelapa Gading, all in North Jakarta, on Wednesday and Thursday.
Floodwaters submerged roads and a number of houses located in the lower part of the housing complex. The floods also reached the vicinity of Mega Mall Pluit and Pluit Plaza, forcing would-be shoppers to look for an alternative entrance into the shopping centers.
Dozens of sidewalk vendors outside the malls whose makeshift stalls were inundated continued trading.
The floodwater along the road in the housing complex ranged between 10 centimeters and 80 cm.
"Last night, when the water was at the highest level, only drivers of big trucks dared to tackle the roads," a security guard told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
The Jakarta Flood Mitigation Agency has repeatedly warned residents in flood prone areas to be prepared for possible flooding caused by torrential rain that is forecast for the city in the next two months.
BMG has forecast that the capital will see 26 to 28 rainy days in January with a precipitation of 50 mm to 100 mm per day. It takes only 75 mm of rainfall daily for three consecutive days to inundate several areas.
In Kali Angke, West Jakarta, floods inundated around 2,300 houses and roads in seven neighborhood units with 80 centimeters of water.
Almost 700 families in Pulo Gebang, East Jakarta were still struggling to remove water with buckets that had inundated their houses at a height of 20 cm on Thursday. A day earlier, the water reached 120 cm.
Head of the service and forecast division of BMG, Ahmad Zakir, reminded residents to stay alert, although the sun was already shining on Thursday.
He said that a mere three hours of non-stop rain would be enough to cause floods.
In the last three days, between 100 mm and 200 mm of rainfall had poured down over Jakarta and caused floods.
"If a similar amount of rain continues in the next few days, combined with the high tide during the full moon on Jan. 7, severe inundation will occur in prone-flood areas," Ahmad told the Post.
Contacted separately, secretary of the flood mitigation task force, Soebagio, said that the city administration was well- prepared to deal with the adverse impacts of floods.
"We have dredged several rivers in the city and distributed Rp 10 million (US$1100) as relief funds to flood-prone subdistricts," he said on Wednesday.
The task force also has around 150 stationary water pumps and another 16 mobile pumps at its disposal. It also distributed inflatable rubber dinghies to all flood-prone neighborhoods in the capital.
"The first priority is to help prevent a major disruption in economic activities," he said.