Residents told to be prepared for floods

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The devastating floods that struck Jakarta last year may come again this month.

So forecasts National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) which issued a warning on Wednesday that heavy rains that began Tuesday night will last until at least Feb. 25.

"So, residents are advised to brace themselves for floods," Governor Sutiyoso told reporters Wednesday.

"We are prepared to do our best to minimize the impact, but it is impossible to prevent the flooding ourselves as it is also the responsibility of the central government."

The city administration has allocated Rp 200 billion (US$22.72 million) from the 2003 budget for flood prevention and dealing with the aftermath.

Tuesday evening saw incessant rain until Wednesday morning, causing several areas in the city to be inundated.

The city's Flood Crisis Center reported Wednesday that affected areas included Petamburan in Central Jakarta; Papanggo and Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta; Grogol Petamburan in West Jakarta; and Cipinang Besar Utara and Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta.

The crisis center, however, reported that water levels had resided in most of the affected areas by 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the flood monitoring post in Depok reported the water level reached 190 centimeters at the same time Wednesday. The level had then dropped by 10 centimeters an hour later.

The Manggarai water gate in South Jakarta, however, reported an increased water level of 10 centimeters from 710 centimeters in the same period.

Meanwhile, other flood gates reported steady levels or even decreasing water levels.