Flood-hit city prays for respite
Flood-hit city prays for respite
JAKARTA (JP): Floods that inundated Jakarta over the weekend and reportedly killed four people began to subside in some areas yesterday, but continued rising and posing threats in other parts of the city.
As of yesterday afternoon, in places such as Cipulir and Tanah Kusir in South Jakarta, water levels rose to about half-a-meter. Residents waded in stomach-deep water, while carts became the main means of transportation.
The rise was thought to be caused by the opening of a dam in Cigudeg, Bogor, which was left ajar twice at 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. after reaching full capacity from the incessant rains.
"We should be getting a (Moslem holiday) Lebaran parcel from Bogor, but instead they are sending us a catastrophe," remarked a security guard working in Cipulir.
The Antara news agency reported that four people from three subdistricts in West Jakarta died in the floods which began with the rains on early Friday morning.
The agency named three of the victims as Kisno and Komaruddin of the Tambora subdistrict, and Zulkarnaen of the Kapuk subdistrict. The other victim has yet to be identified, but his body was found in the Jembatan Lima subdistrict.
The Jakarta Islamic Hospital in Cempaka Putih had to cancel 24 scheduled operations because water inundated some wards, including the operating room. By 3 p.m. yesterday, however, most rooms had been cleaned and dried.
Residential areas and roads in Kampung Buaran and Cikokol, Tangerang, were still submerged, while seven neighborhoods in Petamburan, West Java, were under 1.5 meters of water.
Residents in Bukitduri area, located in South Jakarta along the Ciliwung River, reported half-a-meter high water levels. No strangers to floods, the worst of which occurred last month and killed ten people, the residents said they would remain on alert even if the water subsided in other parts of the city.
Another area still badly hit was the Cawang district, East Jakarta. A mosque in the Cawang III subdistrict was overflowing on Saturday night with people scrambling to move as many of their belongings as possible.
"During the flood last month, I spent 18 days here," said Zaenab, whose house was covered with water up to the roof yesterday. "We went home for a few days and here we are again."
Further up the road from her house along the river, walls still carried Saturday's water marks of almost two meters high.
Wiwien, another resident, said she had to break her fast when she knew her home was flooded again. "I felt so weak," she said.
Zaenab said that, given the current conditions, it would be good enough if everybody remained healthy for the Moslem Idul Fitri, or Lebaran, festival next week.
Like the residents in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, residents in Cawang said there was no warning before the floods.
One of Jakarta's main thoroughfares, Jl. Thamrin, was still inundated as of Sunday, though not as badly as on Saturday. The Jl. Suprapto-Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan intersection in Central Jakarta was relatively dry, while the traffic, in a state of chaos on Saturday, began returning to normal yesterday.
Dozens of people still in drenched clothing sat huddled underneath East Jakarta's Cempaka Putih flyover, waiting for the water to go down enough for them to return home.
Some women in the group were seen spreading clothes to dry out on whatever space was available as soon as the heavy rains began to let up yesterday afternoon.
Around them, however, dozens of cars continued to break down in the waters, through which many had to be pushed after their cars stalled out.
Around 100,000 telephone lines in Jakarta were still inactive after the main power supplies were inundated. Police had their hands full yesterday as communication with city police headquarters was disrupted.
Director of the state-owned telephone company PT Telkom Setyanto P. Santosa told the press in Bandung that the automatic telephone exchange stations in Semanggi and Gatot Subroto areas were the worst affected.
Police have also had to work extra hard, assigning more officers to help sort out traffic congestion, setting up public kitchens and helping flood victims.
At Soekarno-Hatta airport, hundreds of passengers were left stranded as taxi drivers refused to budge for less than outrageous fares.
The normal fare of Rp 25,000 climbed to Rp 60,000 at the airport late Saturday evening.
Traffic on the road to the airport was smoother yesterday morning, though many of the cars heading there had to be re- routed. (team)
Traffic jams -- Page 3