Saturday more flooding in Jakarta

INDONESIA: Although Saturday was a sunny day, Jakarta saw residential areas near the Ciliwung river, such as Balimester and Bidaracina subdistricts, inundated by water, a report said.

Suyadi Sastro, a duty official at the Jakarta Crisis Center, said the heightened water level, mainly along the Ciliwung river, was caused by heavy rains in Bogor overnight, some 60 kilometers south of Jakarta, from whence the Ciliwung originates.

It was reported that as of 2 p.m. the water level at the residents' houses in Bidaracina reaching one meter, while the Manggarai flood monitoring post reported the recorded water level of 760 centimeters.

Two hours later, the water level at the Manggarai post reached 785 centimeters.

During the previous flood on Wednesday, the water level at Balimester reached 1.5 meters high, with the recorded water level at the Manggarai post at 800 centimeters.

Suyadi, however, said that the water level in the city's other rivers -- Kali Pesanggrahan and Kali Cipinang -- were normal for this time of year.--JP