Flood crisis center still not up and running
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.