Radio, a friend indeed in times of worst flood
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A man was perched on the rooftop of his house with his wife and child. They had nothing but the clothes on their backs and a mobile phone with them. What were they doing? Who was he calling?
No, that was not a scene from Survivor. It's not a set-up but a scene in real life, happening to real people who do not expect a million dollars at the end of the day.
"Please, we need help. We need food and water. We've been up here since morning and haven't eaten," the man said over the phone in the afternoon.
Pretty soon his pleas were heard all over Jakarta. The man was calling a local FM radio station. What a wise decision.
When regular television broadcasts began in England in 1937 people thought that moving pictures would replace the radio as the primary source of information. They could not have been more mistaken.
A quick look at the situation in Jakarta these days reveals that the radio is just as close to the general public as ever.
The people have always relied on radio stations for information in times of crisis like the recent flooding, a sign of trust that the government does not have.
Incessant rain in Jakarta and West Java has resulted in many low-lying areas of the capital being inundated.
By Thursday, Jakartans had experienced three consecutive days of being forced out of their homes, with the floodwaters reaching the rooftops in many parts of the city.
Major radio stations in Jakarta have been deluged with telephone calls from people seeking information, calling for help, and simply relaying information.
Television may be a great way of helping people clearly visualize what is happening in the capital, but nothing beats the radio for real-time information.
The current flood crisis is not the only time that radio stations have competed to provide timely information on what is going on. In fact, they always do so during critical periods, such as times of heightened political tension when street demonstrations are everywhere.
"We get hundreds of calls everyday. Some give information on traffic, others about emergency situations. We relay the messages to the public and the relevant institutions for help," Radio Elshinta (90.05 FM) manager Eddy Harsono told The Jakarta Post.
The information relayed by the radio stations can be helpful in more ways than one.
"When I heard on the radio that the Pondok Indah road was flooded, I immediately tried to find an alternative route," said Emilia, an company employee who drove to her office.
She said that she listened to the radio more closely now on the road to avoid getting stuck in traffic.
Eddy said that Elshinta has mobilized more than 50 of its reporters to monitor the flood situation in the capital, and dedicated 20 telephone lines to take calls from the public.
Another major station, Sonora (100.9 FM), said that it had more than 12 reporters in badly affected places.
"We also have people monitoring the traffic situation from a police helicopter that we leased," Sonora station head Yos Tanubrata explained.
He said that the station had been greatly assisted by people calling in to provide information, and to that effect Sonora had eight telephone lines open 24 hours a day.
Information from the general public was also a quick way of getting the police's attention, Yos said.
Besides information, the radio stations have also sent assistance to flood victims.
Radio Sonora has given out 1,000 meal packs and 2,000 loaves of bread to those in need, while radio Elshinta has opened Elshinta Humanity Care to collect donations from the public.
Eddy said that the role of the radio in emergencies such as this was to become a mediator between the victims and those that could help.
"If somebody calls in for help, we tell the Search and Rescue team or the police to help. We relay information from the public to the public. That's our role in this," he said.