City grinds to a standstill after tropical downpours

JAKARTA (JP): Yesterday's torrents caused inundation in many areas and left thousands stranded in bus shelters as traffic was paralyzed.

On main streets such as Jl. Gajah Mada, Jl. Merdeka Selatan, Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Gatot Subroto, vehicles crawled as the street under Semanggi bridge was inundated.

The flooding, with the water level reaching about 20 centimeters high, occurred during the afternoon rush hour when many people were returning home from work.

The condition worsened when radio frequencies used by police were disrupted by unauthorized people.

The rain started in the afternoon and lasted until 6 p.m.

A trip from Slipi to the Palmerah market, which normally takes 10 minutes, lasted 30 minutes.

Many people chose to brave the rains rather than wait for public transportation.

Gutters that were not large enough to accommodate water contributed to the flooded streets.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja urged Jakartans to participate in handling floods instead of merely considering floods as a routine occurrence.

"Without public awareness ... all our programs in dealing with floods will not be effective," Surjadi said.

He said the public should refrain from throwing garbage into the rivers or building homes on riverbanks.

This year, the city's programs to anticipate floods, with the support of the central government, include river dredging, building riverbanks, adding water pumps in low-level areas and preparing flood gates in the rivers.

The city allocated Rp 15 billion (US$6.52 million) to dredge 12 rivers, including the Ciliwung, Cideng and Grogol rivers, while the central government dredged five rivers. (yns/bsr)