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.