Storms uproot 50 trees

Storms uproot 50 trees

JAKARTA (JP): More than 50 trees in 32 locations in the city
were uprooted by strong winds on Wednesday night.

An official of the city park agency said yesterday that
hundreds of other trees were stripped of their branches.

The official said that 20 trees were toppled along Jl. MT
Haryono in South Jakarta alone.

"Ten of these trees were inside the Air Force Headquarters
complex on Jl. MT Haryono," Gunawan, head of the agency's park
and green areas department, said.

Gunawan said that the main cause was strong winds which
accompanied rains on Wednesday night. Moreover, most of the trees
were very old.

He said that many trees along Jl. Asia Afrika, Jl. Raya Bogor,
Jl. Diponegoro, Jl. Supomo, Jl. Kebon Sirih and Jl. Pondok Gede
Raya were also toppled.

"We have deployed dozens of people and nine trucks to cut up
and remove the trees from the streets. Hopefully, we can clean up
the mess soon," he said.

Gunawan said that his office will replace the toppled trees
soon with a similar type will trim those that lost their
branches.

"We will make them as beautiful as they were," he said.

Gunawan said that in the future the agency will try not to
plant trees with too many branches because they need trimming
periodically.

Rains and flooding on Wednesday disrupted the traffic and the
toppled trees made the situation worse as they blocked the roads
and caused further traffic congestion.

Some areas in South Jakarta, including Jl. Jend. Sudirman and
Jl. Sutoyo were submerged by water.

In Central Jakarta, water inundated Jl. Tanah Abang II, Jl.
KH. Mas Mansyur, Jl. Wahid Hasyim, the Kebon Kacang housing
complex, and Bendungan Hilir.

West Jakarta's Jl. Raya Tomang, Jl. Hankam, Jl. Tanjung Duren
Barat IV, Jl.Kamboja and Jati Pulo and Jl. Latumeten were also
flooded. (yns)