Lampung warned of further flooding
Oyos Saroso HN, The Jakarta Post, Bandar Lampung
Further flood resulting from heavy rain could still hit Lampung province, and disrupt its Raden Intan airport and the trans-Sumatra highway as happened on Wednesday.
The deputy chairman of the Lampung Geophysics and Meteorology Information Team, Bambang N.S. said on Thursday that Lampung residents had to take the possibility of flooding seriously as convection clouds were sill present over the province.
Convection clouds, which usually form around the time of the changeover from the rainy season to the dry season, have the potential to cause heavy rain.
On Wednesday, torrential rain produced by convection clouds caused serious flooding that disrupted flights from Radin Intan airport and inundated parts of the trans-Sumatra highway in Branti village, southern Lampung.
"The rain only lasted for about three hours but it gave rise to serious flooding. Local people should be on the watch for a repetition of such conditions," he said.
According to the Meteorology and Geophysics Office, rainfall in Branti village reached 263 millimeters, while in Candimas it reached 160 millimeters.
The flash floods on Wednesday in Candimas, Brantiraya and Way Lunik in Teluk Betung, and Natar in southern Lampung, inundated hundreds of houses and stranded hundreds of people in the affected areas.
It cut the trans-Sumatra highway in Branti village for about 13 hours and disrupted flights into and from Raden Intan airport. The Sumatra highway is the main road in Sumatra that links all the major cities with the ferryport for traffic bound for Java island, while Raden Intan is the only airport in the province.
Local residents said that the flooding at the airport was exacerbated by its inadequate drainage system.
"The drainage system has been disrupted by the recent extension of the airport, causing the floodwater to reach up to two meters," said Muji, a resident who lives near to the airport.
In Branti village, hundreds of travelers in cars had to stop their journey due to the flooding and continue again the next morning after the floodwater had receded.
"I waited for the floodwater to recede until 10 a.m. And then we had to drive slowly because of the traffic jam," said Amir, 40, a truck driver, who was transporting goods from Bandarjaya to Jakarta along the trans-Sumatra highway.
Lampung Land Transportation Agency chief M. Zein said that his personnel had to direct traffic with the assistance of the local police. "We're still monitoring the highway," Zein said on Wednesday afternoon.
Satimin, an official at Raden Intan airport, denied the reports that said the flooding at the airport was due to the extension of the airport's runway. "It's because of the heavy rain not because of the extension of the runway. Usually, rainfall in the area is only 166 millimeters, but on Tuesday it was 263 millimeters," he said.