Flooding, jams, the same old story
Damar Harsanto and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As the wet season ends, Jakarta was drenched by eight hours of consecutive rain on Wednesday, causing traffic jams all over the capital.
Frustrated motorists were stuck for hours, while the worst affected areas were the main thoroughfares of Jl. Jend. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin, where water levels of up to 70 centimeters levels were reported.
Several cars and motorcycles were observed with engine trouble while bracing the deluged roads.
Gridlock on the Tangerang-Jakarta toll road stretched for 19 kilometers from Serpong to Tomang as of 10 p.m. The underpass construction at Tomang intersection worsened the condition.
A 40-year-old woman was struck by lightning and died at the scene in Tanjung Duren Utara, West Jakarta. She was taken to the nearby Sumber Waras hospital by her husband at 2:30 p.m.
Several trees fell on Jl. Panjang in West Jakarta, Casablanca area in South Jakarta, and on Jl. KH Wahid Hasyim in Central Jakarta, further disrupting the already chaotic traffic.
Jakarta Parks Agency head Sarwo Handhayani said in the evening that her subordinates were still patrolling the streets looking for toppled trees. Tropical storm Linda in January uprooted nearly 200 trees in the capital, 150 of those were in South Jakarta.
An on-duty staff member of the Meteorological and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said that similar phenomenon also occurred in Lampung and West Java provinces.
"Nothing is unusual about rain after several days of heat, the storm was not comparable to the last one," he said.
The crisis center at the City Hall provided very little information on the situation across the city.
"For the time being, we are still monitoring the situation via the radio... So far, we are aware that Jl. Sabang and the area of Cempaka Putih are seriously congested," an officer said.
Traffic jams occurred at almost every intersection as many motorists ignored traffic lights and refused to take turn to pass the intersections.
Gridlock stretched from the main thoroughfares to Tugu Tani park in Menteng, Central Jakarta and the Senayan traffic circle in South Jakarta.
Similar congestion was apparent on Jl. Gatot Subroto through to Slipi area in West Jakarta, and the inner city toll road heading to North Jakarta and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. To get from Cawang in East Jakarta to the House of Representatives compound via Jl. Gatot Subroto took three hours by car, while traveling from Tomang to Harmoni took five hours.
On Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said and Mampang Prapatan areas, South Jakarta, motorcyclists sheltered under pedestrian bridges and overpasses, which added to the jams.
Commuters were stranded at bus stops, while many bus passengers gave up and continued their trip on foot.
Yayat Supriatna, a lecturer of Trisakti University, said Grogol area in West Jakarta had been flooded with water levels reaching up to 70 centimeters.
"Grogol river overflowed, causing water to swamp Trisakti and Tarumanegara universities," he said.
The Jakarta administration dredged most of the 13 rivers flowing through the capital from the beginning of the rainy season in an attempt to prevent flooding.