Jakartans told to get ready for heavy rainfalls, floods

JAKARTA (JP): City residents should prepare for floods as heavy rainfalls in the upper Puncak area will reach a climax early next month, an official said on Wednesday.

"Most rivers in Jakarta originate in the Puncak area, which is some 70 kilometers south of here," Wan Tarmin, a staff member of the public information department of the Meteorologic and Geophysical Agency (BMG), told The Jakarta Post.

"The peak of heavy rainfall in the Puncak area is estimated to be between 280 millimeters and 350 millimeters in early December and January."

Meanwhile in Jakarta, the peak of heavy rainfall will be in January and February next year, he said.

"In January, rainfall is expected to be between 350 and 400 millimeters per month, while in February it will be between 280 and 350 millimeters," he said.

"The current rate of rainfall in Jakarta is between 150 and 300 millimeters per month, while in Cianjur, Puncak, it is 260 millimeters per month."

Tarmin warned city residents of the possibility of heavy rain over two consecutive days.

"Based on our experience, two consecutive days of heavy rain is more than enough to bring floods here," he said.

Limited budget

Meanwhile, Deputy Governor for Social Welfare Affairs Djailani said on Wednesday that the city administration did not have enough money to take necessary preventive measures against floods or to settle any problems which originate from floods.

"We have so many things to do and the city administration has only a limited budget," he said after an inspection of the city's flood task force in Central Jakarta.

He urged city residents not to dump garbage into the rivers.

"People think rivers are their garbage dump. It takes time to change their habit," he said.

Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah said his office had made necessary preparations to anticipate floods.

"We'll encourage the local youth organizations' involvement in the flood preventive measures," Andi told the Post.

"We also have 26 rubber boats to anticipate the flood," he said.

The mayor said there were 18 flood spots in Central Jakarta, eight of which were the most serious.

"The critical spots are in Petamburan, Bendungan Hilir, Tanah Abang, Sumur Batu, Cempaka Baru and Mangga Dua subdistricts, and two are in Gunung Sahari subdistrict," he said.

Floods and rivers in Jakarta are managed and supervised by the Ciliwung-Cisadane Rivers Regional Project (PWSCC).

"A problem in flood management has been the huge amount of garbage dumped into rivers by residents.

"A large amount of garbage obstructs the river's flow," a PWSCC staff member said.

He said Jakarta had flood canals in the western and eastern parts of the city.

"Currently, we are doing maintenance work in several parts of the eastern canal as there have been landslides in several places." (05)