Technology to minimize losses from flood chaos

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.