Hail, strong winds hit Bandung

Hail, strong winds hit Bandung

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post/Bandung/Aceh

A downpour, compounded by hail and strong winds in some places,
hit Bandung city on Thursday afternoon, toppling dozens of trees
and causing flooding in some parts of the city.

However, an official from the Bandung office of the Geophysics
and Meteorological Agency (BMG) quickly rejected suggestions that
the rain, which came after several months of drought in the city,
marked the start of the wet season in Bandung, the capital of
West Java province.

Holil, 36, who lives on Jl. Supadio, said that the noise
caused by the hail falling on his roof had been deafening. "Not
only hail, but strong winds also hit our area. My son was so
scared," said Holil.

The hail fell in the areas around Husein Sastranegara Airport,
Jl. Padjadjaran, Jl. Supadio and the city's downtown. The
flooding, plus the many fallen trees, caused severe traffic
congestion in many parts of the city, especially the city center.

The rain and hail lasted for almost an hour. After the rain
was over, residents set about cleaning up the leaves, garbage and
tree branches that had been blown around by the wind.

Meanwhile, Hendri Surbakti, the director of the Bandung BMG
office, said that it was too early to say that the rain was a
sign that the wet season had arrived in Bandung.

"The rain fell for only an hour, and the amount was far below
the 200-millimeters-per-day level," he explained.

However, he warned that Bandung residents should start
preparing for the wet season as some other parts of West Java
province were now in between the wet and dry seasons, a sign that
the wet season could soon start in Bandung itself.

"City residents should start cleaning drains in the city in
order to prevent flooding," Hendri advised.

Separately in Aceh province, the flooding that has been
affecting Aceh Jaya regency since Sunday began spreading to other
areas of the province, including a number of districts in the
neighboring regencies of West Aceh and Nagan Raya.

As of Thursday, land transportation between West Aceh regency
and Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, was still cut
because of floods of between one and one-and-a-half meters in
depth.

Aceh Jaya regency was the area hardest hit by the flooding.

Thousands of students were unable to attend school as 31
school buildings in the regency were inundated.

"There are no reports of fatalities, but at least six houses
in the regency have been washed away by the floods," said Azwar
Abubakar, the director of the Natural Disaster Management Agency
in Aceh province.

According to Aceh Jaya residents, the flooding severely hit
three areas in the regency, namely Teunom, Sampoinit and Krueng
Sabe districts. The flooding occurred after the embankments along
the On and Teunom Rivers gave way. "Many markets in Aceh Jaya
regency were closed as they were inundated by water," said
Saiful.

Due to the severity of the flooding, thousands of residents in
the regency had to take refuge on higher ground.

The flooding in West Aceh regency also caused traffic jams
between the towns of Meulaboh and Kuala Bhee, and Meulaboh and
Tutut.