Agency warns of possibility of massive flooding during next rainy season
Agency warns of possibility of massive flooding during next rainy season
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Meteorological and Geophysics Agency (BMG) has warned of the
possibility of huge floods during the next rainy season, which
will peak between late December and the middle of January, when
the frequency and intensity of rainfall will be significantly
high.
Chief of BMG's weather forecasting division Achmad Zakir told
The Jakarta Post on Thursday the next floods would not be as
severe as those in January and February this year, but rainfall
would be heavier than normal.
He said that the cumulative rainfall in January and February
this year was around 600 millimeters (mm), while the equivalent
for the peak of the next rainy season would be around 500 mm. The
cumulative rainfall at the peak of the rainy season in Jakarta
was normally about 400 mm.
According to Zakir, during the peak of the next rainy season
the frequency of rain could reach five consecutive days, which
could cause serious flooding in several locations in the city.
"It is possible that incessant rain over five consecutive
days, with downpours of around 100 mm, could occur in early
January. If that happens, flooding will be significant in several
parts of the city," Zakir told the Post on Thursday.
The city administration has acknowledged that no significant
action to alleviate flooding has been taken in the city this
year.
Head of the Public Works Agency IGKG Suena said that if
rainfall was normal in the next rainy season, 73 areas in the
city would be liable to flooding. If it were higher, then the
number of such areas would increase. Unfortunately, the agency
had only about Rp 224 billion available for tackling flooding in
just five areas.
Zakir said that the possibility of heavy rainfall was the
result of a prolonged dry reason, as the rainy season would start
early in December instead of in September as usual.
According to Zakir, November would not experience much rain as
it would still be in the transitional period from the dry to the
rainy season.
"As the rainy season is shorter than usual, namely only two
months -- December and January -- the amount and frequency of
rainfall will be higher than usual," said Zakir.
He added that the city administration should begin to make
contingency plans for people resident in areas liable to serious
flooding.
The floods in January and February, which inundated 168
subdistricts in the city, resulted in 30 fatalities, 300,000
people being evacuated from their homes and financial losses
estimated at about Rp 10 trillion.
He also warned of the increased possibility of landslides in
Jakarta and other areas such as the Puncak in Bogor, West Java,
during the next rainy season. He added that during the dry
season from May to October, soil molecules expanded, making the
land less stable.
"Landslides are no less dangerous than floods as they can also
kill many people," said Zakir.