Info system installed to control floods

JAKARTA (JP): The government now has both manual and automatic information systems to warn people of floods after a computerized system to provide accurate and continuous data on water levels was set up in May.

The automatic system is online at all times. It was set up to complement the current manual information system.

"The establishment of the dual information systems of flood control will pass flood warnings on to the government and local administration officials who can then warn the public," the manager of the Ciliwung-Cisadane river basin development project, Siswoko, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

He added that with early information on real water levels upstream, those lower down can react properly.

"The new technology, called Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (Scada) has 24 stations in Bogor, Depok, Bekasi and Jakarta and four remote terminal units in Jakarta,"

He said the Canadian-French technology provides updated water level data from 13 downstream rivers here and at three upstream sites of the Ciliwung and Pesanggrahan rivers in Bogor, Depok and Bekasi.

He added that monitoring terminals were installed in his office on Jl. Inspeksi Tarum Barat, East Jakarta, and three more at the public works offices.

The old manual information system uses walkie-talkie radio through which picket officials in Bogor, Depok and Bekasi can communicate water levels every half hour to other picket officials in Jakarta.

"With the dual information system we hope that both the officials in charge and the public can take proper steps to anticipate floods," Siswoko said.

Siswoko said that whatever technology is applied, Jakarta will still be flooded, because it is too near sealevel.

Siswoko warned that floods as serious as those in January and February this year could happen this rainy season.

He said that the public misguidedly believes that floods that bad happen only in every 20 years.

"A flood like the one in January has a probability of 20 years, meaning similar or even worse flooding may reoccur sooner or later within 20 years," said Siswoko.

The January and February floods killed 30 people and caused Rp 90 billion in total losses. (kod)