Technology to minimize losses from flood chaos

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id

Could you imagine how much fossil fuel was wasted the entire week last week, with all the cars stuck in traffic for hours and their engines were running? It may be good news to our state-oil company, Pertamina, but it is certainly a horror story for the rest of us.

The appalling wastage of fuel was just perhaps a fraction of the loss that we all suffered last week. Millions of people must have lost a lot of their belongings in the flood-things that might have taken them years to save in order to get enough money to buy.

And, as a good friend reminded me, we also must add into the calculation of the losses the psychological stress that we all suffered when we were stuck in a completely chaotic traffic-not knowing how to defend ourselves of the muggers and other criminals who we could see around us.

It is during the hard times such as last week that we, human beings, usually reveal who we really are. And it was so depressing to see how much inconsideration was demonstrated last week. The self-appointed traffic wardens at an intersection not far from where I lived, for example, told my driver to turn left instead of trying to cross the rows of cars in front of us. We did not follow his instruction, because we knew there was a deep pool on the road just two hundred meters down on our left. We could not help wondering how people could have the heart to lead others into a trap in times like this.

Lack of info

Perhaps the best decision I ever made last week was the one at noon last Friday, when I called my client that I had decided not to come to her office on Jl. Sudirman then. I was very lucky. I was about to leave for our appointment when SCTV reported that the downpour in the Bogor area might cause an extensive flooding in Jakarta.

I knew might have no problem getting to my client's office, but getting home would be a struggle that I was not ready to take up. I told her that I could not risk being stranded in Jl. Sudirman, not knowing how to go home. She understood my concern, and we rescheduled our meeting.

Obviously, not many people were as lucky as I was. Thousands of other people were trapped in traffic, although they listened to the radio and check the traffic conditions via SMS. When the traffic became so bad everywhere, it was not surprising that the cellular network became congested and it was impossible to make calls. A lot of motorists were caught in deep pool of water, because they had no access to information. Isn't there a way to prevent all of these from happening?

The technology components are there, and a lot of them are already tested and used in advanced countries. To begin with, video cameras have now become very good and very cheap, and they can be very effective in monitoring the conditions in vulnerable areas. Wireless Webcams are used in a lot of other major cities in the world, and installing them are not too difficult as most of them can be fitted on poles or base terminal stations without having to pull a new cable.

On Wednesday, I had to go to Bumi Serpong Damai to pick up a niece who had been stranded for a couple of days at her friend's home. It was when we were already inside the toll road that we knew there was a deep pool of water in front of us. There was no way we could turn back, as the cars behind us were already so impatient and were almost pushing us ahead. It was a miracle that my small Honda Civic could still get out of the pool without a hiccup, although we had some water on its floor.

Could technology have prevented this? Almost 15 years ago, we were already talking about a decision support system for the police force that would allow them to dispatch officers to a downtown area based on the information collected by the system.

It consisted of a detailed map of the inner city, complete with all the roads and buildings. The moment the report of a crime taking place in an area was received, a red light would immediately start flashing on the map. Using their communications means, the Command Center can immediately deploy more officers to that area if backup was required.

The system would also provide other key information, such as the number of officers already in the area, whether the ambulance and fire engines had already been sent there, whether traffic had been redirected, etc.

Can it be used here?

Those who have lived in Jakarta for decades will tell you that flooding has recurred in this city for as long as they can remember. It is also clear that we will still have to go through the flood in the future, as our ecology has deteriorated so much that no quick fix will work. But, at least, we can minimize the suffering caused by the flood.

First of all, we need to learn how civil defense in other countries operates. In Honolulu, Hawaii, where I spent six years as a student, there would be a civil defense exercise on the first Thursday of each month. During the exercise, the siren would wail for two minutes or so, and all the radio stations would relay the broadcast from the civil defense center. Coordination is key to successful disaster management.

Secondly, as the flood is going to happen again and again in Jakarta in the future, a command center is a must. Although the flood may hit this city once a year, the loss of property-and even lives-should provide us with enough reasons to set up a technology-based command center.

Thirdly, to make it easier for the public to access accurate information of where the flood points exactly are, the maps and all the information on it can be made available on the Web. We have all the necessary components, including Geological Information System (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS) and Webcams, that will make the Command Center a very effective one in helping the people of Jakarta during the times of disaster.

If you spent hours after hours trying to find an alternative route to a destination only to find that each time you had to turn around and try the next route, you would agree that your life would be less stressful if you could access an authoritative source of comprehensive and accurate information.

Next generation of vehicles will have Internet access already built in, and this will further help make such wasteful and exasperating trial and error a thing of the past. Technology has actually made all of these possible. However, as long as our government bodies and authorities keep saying, "We have done all we can" while their maximum is paltry compared to what Rudy Giuliani did in New York right after the destruction of the WTC, no use of technology will reduce our suffering in a disaster like what we had last week.