Frozen rain hits Bandung, floods affect Cilacap

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Bandung/Cilacap

A hailstorm hit the West Java capital Bandung, covering almost the entire city for about half an hour, as locals took shelter from the stormy weather on Tuesday.

Locals reported the hailstorm from Bandung's northern Dago area down to Jl. Soekarno-Hatta and Jl. Mohamad Toha in the southern part. To its west, the hail and sleet hit the area of Sukajadi and to its east the Ujungberung area.

A heavy downpour, strong winds and thunder surprised locals in the middle of the day.

Yani, a housewife, said she heard a rattling noise on her roof which is made of zinc.

"I thought the sound I heard came from tree branches that had fallen down because of the strong wind. When I looked up I saw drops of ice about the size of marbles falling from the sky," she said.

The hail and the stormy weather made it nearly impossible to venture outside. Poor visibility forced several cars along Jl. Dago to stop, as motorists had to wait until the rain subdued.

"The rain was so strong that visibility was only about 30 meters," said Dandi who drove a Toyota Kijang.

Strong winds also blew over six trees, some of which then obstructed traffic.

The heavy rain flooded several parts of the city, but the flood subsided not long after it stopped raining.

There may be further hailstorms until early next month, said Triyogo Ambarkahi, a member of staff at Bandung's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.

He said it was not the first time that Bandung had seen sleet.

"This (phenomenon) was caused by the increase in temperature as a result of air pollution," he explained.

He said air pollution altered the formation of clouds above the city. This, he said, could lead to extreme weather changes.

"On a hot day, it can be very hot. But the temperature can drop immediately and plunge to a very low level," he explained.

Triyogo warned that the shrinking green areas in the city had worsened pollution levels. With mountains surrounding Bandung, the polluted air remains hanging over the city, he said.

Elsewhere, floods inundated around 800 houses in several parts of Cilacap on Tuesday, with water standing between half a meter to 1 meter.

Heavy rain caused the Cibereum river to overflow.

"Every time it rains heavily, the villages are flooded for several days," said Ahmad Khaeruddin, the district head of the Sidareja village.