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