Stronger storms to hit Jakarta soon

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The stormy weather that hit Jakarta on Friday is still likely to occur again in the near future because the peak of the rainy season, which had been forecast for early January, will occur in mid-February.

Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) senior expert, Paulus Agus Winarso, said on Saturday that the peak would occur in February instead, while rainfall could reach up to 100 millimeters per day.

"The peak of the rainy season was to occur at the end of January and therefore extra heavy rains are very possible in the next two weeks," he told The Jakarta Post.

BMG had previously forecast 26 consecutive days of rain for January.

According to Paulus, the delay in the peak of the rainy season will cause the heaviest rains to fall in the next two weeks.

Therefore, he advised Jakartans to remain alert over the possibility of major floods because the level of rainfall would be similar to conditions in early 2002.

Massive flooding paralyzed the capital two years ago resulting in the deaths of at least 30 people and forcing more than 300,000 others to take refuge.

The violent storm that occurred last Friday was only the beginning of the rainy season's peak, said Paulus, as indicated by tropical storm Linda in southern Indonesian waters.

"The storm that hit Jakarta and its surrounding areas yesterday (Friday) was extraordinary. The storm caused heavy rains combined with strong winds."

Paulus named poor technology and drastic global environmental problems as two reasons for the inaccurate weather forecast.

The BMG does not have high-tech equipment for monitoring changes in the weather that would be required to get the most accurate weather forecast.

He pointed out that the worldwide environmental damage, which has caused global warming, also made the work of weather forecasting more difficult.

"The occurrence of new diseases like bird flu can't be separated from the global environmental problems. It also affects a weather forecaster's work."

Paulus gave a tip for people to recognize the signs of impending heavy rain.

"If the weather is extremely hot and then there are black clouds, prepare yourselves for heavy rains, and possible floods if you live in flood-prone areas."