Flood crisis center still not up and running

Evi Mariani and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration has yet to set up a flood crisis center, despite the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG)'s forecast of high rainfall during the next two weeks.

The matter seems particularly pressing as the one-week national holiday to celebrate Idul Fitri is eight days away. Many residents return to their hometowns during this period and houses will be left unattended and government offices largely unstaffed.

While playing down the forecast of floods, Soebagio, the secretary of city's Coordinating Task Force for Flood Anticipation and Refugees, admitted that the crisis center would not be ready until next week.

"The office is still being renovated. We expect the work will be completed next week," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Soebagio was referring to an office at the City Hall, which has been set aside as a center to handle problems arising from possible floods.

He was quick to add that the administration would soon brief officials on a contingency plan in anticipation of floods.

"We think the situation is not yet alarming ... but we keep our eyes on the water levels at several sluices," he added.

All civil servants will be on leave from Nov. 24 to Nov. 29 to celebrate Idul Fitri, which falls on Nov. 25 and Nov 26. Many residents are also expected to travel out of town during the holiday.

Separately, head of BMG Forecast and Service Division, Achmad Zakir, said that the heavy rain forecast for the next two weeks was not uncommon for November.

He warned that although rainfall is predicted to average between 50 millimeters and 80 millimeters per day during this period, continuous downpours across Greater Jakarta and high coastal tides could cause floods in the city.

"Two hours of heavy rain yesterday (Sunday) flooded various areas in the city although the rainfall was only between 50 millimeters and 63 millimeters -- the highest level at East Jakarta. So, please be alert," Zakir told the Post over the phone.

This year's figure is much lower than 100 millimeters of rainfall last year. However, the continuous rain and high tides early last year caused flooding in the city, claiming at least 30 lives.

For further information, or to file a report, a 24-hour flood hotline is available at 021-3822011.

In a report published by the city last month, a scale of one to four was outlined, by which the seriousness of flooding will be judged.

If the water level at Katulampa sluice in Bogor reaches more than 310 centimeters and the Manggarai sluice in South Jakarta exceeds 950 centimeters, the city will be declared on red alert, or Siaga I (level one).

"This week, we call it Siaga IV," Soebagio said, which is the least dangerous level of flooding, according to the scale.

Last year, the administration was widely criticized for its slow response to the severe floods that hit the city. In fact, at the end of the day, the public was left to help themselves amid the flood.

It was a few private radio stations, not the city's crisis center nor the city's Public Order Agency, that became "crisis centers", providing information related to flooding and where to get help.