Jakartans told to beware of possible floods

JAKARTA (JP): The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) strongly urged Jakartans to take precautionary measures against possible flash floods after more heavy rain was forecast for the capital.

Paulus Agus Winarso, head of BMG's forecasting and service division, said the chance of a number of areas in the capital being inundated as a result of the current extended wet period was between 40 percent and 60 percent.

"The intensity of rainfall in July has already been much higher than the normal level of under 100 millimeters per hour," he told The Jakarta Post.

He added that there was a 60 percent chance of above average rains continuing to fall on the capital until the end of this year.

People should be aware of the danger of flooding, especially when heavy rain falls continuously for a number of hours, he said.

"For example, the rain which fell over many parts of Jakarta from dawn until after lunch was not particularly heavy, but if it had carried on for long enough it would have caused widespread flooding," he said.

Paulus said the chances of flooding in the capital were high because their were no water catchment areas to prevent rainwater flowing immediately to low lying and consequently flood prone areas.

Anticipating and preparing for flooding is the best thing to do, he said.

"Unfortunately many people ignore warnings issued by the agency, but being caught unprepared only results in greater loss," he pointed out.

He said that many people in East Java suffered a large financial loss and were in very low spirits after floods hit them last week when they were drying their harvested rice.

The Jakarta administration and many other people were shocked when some areas along the Ciliwung river were hit by flooding in May, he added.

"They never thought that floods could come in May, which is normally the dry season," he added.

Like in many parts of the country, the "extended" wet season in the capital is the result of the La Nina weather phenomenon, which has the opposite effect to El Nio.

Normally, he said, the ground in Jakarta should be dry until August, the start of the annual rainy season.

Official call

On Thursday the deputy governor for development affairs, Budiardjo Soekmadi, called on the public to try to avert floods by cleaning up rivers, drains, ditches and gutters in their residential areas.

"Sandbags should be used to fortify river banks against unusually high flows of water, especially in areas prone to flooding such as Sunter in North Jakarta and Bintaro and Pesanggrahan in South Jakarta," he said.

Budiardjo promised that the city administration would also take some precautionary measures.

"For example, we will get the city's public works agency to check several facilities, including the water dam and pumps. The first step to take is to remove mud and refuse from the dam so that it can collect water properly," he said.

The administration, he added, had asked for Rp 500 million from the Ministry of Public Works to finance the cleaning up of the dam and to fix the pumps.

"We don't have much money now, but we have to do something to prevent large floods in this city," Budiardjo said.

He said the city administration had an adequate number of water pumps, but pointed out that many of them were broken.

"They need to be fixed immediately," he said without further elaboration. (cst)