Traffic chaos as jakarta's drains fail in downpour

Annastashya Emmanuelle and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Due to a heavy downpour on Thursday morning, most streets in the city were flooded and caused massive traffic congestion for thousands of commuters.

Many Jakartans arrived at their workplaces as much as two hours late, frustrated and weary at the very least.

A private company employee, Hadi, said that his wife grumbled continuously while he drove her to work on Thursday morning, as the roads from the their house in Jatinegara, East Jakarta to her office in Menteng, Central Jakarta were severely clogged.

"We should have been faster than the others because we were on a motorcycle, but the streets were inundated, causing all the vehicles to move at a slower pace," he said.

Taxis were scarce, and one driver complained about being stuck for an hour in the Senen area of Central Jakarta.

However, many motorcyclists also contributed to the problem as they often took shelter below overpasses at intersections during the rain, thus creating less space on the road.

The city's poor drainage, either broken or filled with garbage, is perhaps the main cause of the dire situation Jakartans are faced with every rainy season.

"The acute flooding occurs because of poor drainage. Currently workers are still renovating the drainage system," IGK Suena, head of the Public Works Agency told reporters at City Hall on Thursday.

He added that there were 14 major trouble areas, prone to flooding, in the city in West, East and North Jakarta.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said earlier this month, there was not much that his administration could do aside from warning the public of eminent flooding.

Building canals which would control the water level of the 13 rivers flowing through Jakarta would be the ideal solution, Sutiyoso said, but the financial cost is too great.

Also, earlier this month, the Meteorological and Geophysics Agency announced that heavy rain will occur in January and February.

According to the Flood Control Agency, the water level thus far, does not have the potential to cause severe floods, the agency warned however, that residents of North Jakarta, near the coastal areas, should take extra precautions.