Official warns city residents of flooding

JAKARTA (JP): Torrential rainfall on Monday night served as a warning to city residents of flooding during the ongoing wet season, an official said on Tuesday.

Head of the City Public Works Agency Fadly Katib said the heavy rain had caused water in the city drainage system to inundate the roads and areas prone to flooding in the capital.

He said his agency had recorded at least 26 inundations across the capital following the rain, with water levels ranging between 10 centimeters and 40 centimeters in depth.

Among the most seriously affected areas was Central Jakarta, where the water level reached a record high of 40 centimeters on Jl. Cempaka Putih Barat, Jl. Agus Salim, and around the Sarinah shopping center on Jl. Thamrin.

The city flood control unit reported the rainfall on Monday night as being far above the normal level of 50 millimeters, causing an increase in the water level of rivers flowing through the capital.

According to a report from the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, the highest rainfall was recorded in the Bekasi area, east of Jakarta, reaching 111 millimeters, while the lowest rainfall was Depok, south of the city, where it reached 36 millimeters.

Meanwhile, in East Jakarta, overnight rain caused flooding at the Hek water gate in Kramat Jati.

Flooding in the area was mainly the result of debris from trees which blocked the drains.

However, Fadly said that the public works agency had cleared the blocked drains on Tuesday.

"Most of these areas lack flood control equipment, including early warning systems to alert the community of an incoming flood hours ahead of time," he said.

In preparation for the coming rainy season and its usual floods, Fadly called on residents to clean local drains in their respective neighborhoods.

He said that most of the inundations in the capital on Monday night were caused by garbage blocking up the drainage system.

Fadly added that most of the floods occurred in flood-prone areas, and had been tackled by flood control units.

"We call on all residents to increase monitoring of their nearest floodgates and the flow of the city's rivers, through a patrol system to prevent more flooding," he said.

There are 13 rivers flowing through Jakarta.

The city administration set aside Rp 30 billion (about US$3.15 million) last year to cope with floods.

According to city spokesman, Muhayat, about 87 percent of the allocated budget had been used for the completion of various prevention projects, such as the construction of drainage systems.

The funds also covered maintenance and the purchasing of new pumps, floodgates and electric generators, as well as the cleaning of canals and waterways.

However, he added, the plan would not guarantee that Jakarta would be free of floods, given the fact that 40 percent of the capital's area was below sea level. (07/04)