Flooding, jams, the same old story
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.