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akartans may find that it is best to avoid standing near a billboard or a tree when extreme weather hits the city as no serious measures have been taken to prevent them from toppling.

Didi Oerip Affandi, the chairman of the Jakarta Billboard Entrepreneurs Association, said he had asked all association members to recheck their billboards installed across the city in order to avoid another billboard from toppling.

“In a required assessment to erect billboards, we don’t have a standard to check whether the billboards can withstand extreme weather, so I have asked all billboard owners to recheck their billboards as the rainy season and strong winds have started,” he said.

Didi also said that although the association had assigned teams to regularly monitor billboards, such as checking all panels and the structure, they might had missed some spots.

“We will improve our monitoring system. Currently we focus too much on billboards that have previously collapsed, as though strong winds may return and hit the same billboards,” he said.

He said companies had also set up a virtual community to communicate and share information on the latest billboard locations hit by rain and strong wind.

On Wednesday, a billboard in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, collapsed after being hit by strong winds and rain. It fell onto a car and disrupted traffic, but did not injure anyone.

Still on the same day, a billboard indicating the direction to the University of Indonesia in Depok also collapsed, but did not disrupt traffic. Strong winds and heavy rain have also felled many trees in the city.

City Parks and Cemeteries Agency head Catharina Suryowati said that the agency’s officials regularly patrolled on the lookout for dying trees, especially ahead of the rainy season. However, a lack of personnel rendered the agency unable to effectively monitor all vulnerable trees in the city.

But the agency ensured that agency officials were on 24-hour standby for any incidence of toppled trees.

Urban planning expert Nirwono Joga said the absence of a master plan regulating the placement of billboards had put people at risk.

“There should be a regulation stipulating which areas billboards can and cannot be erected,” he said, adding that extensive control should be conducted by the administration.

Nirwono also said an assessment should be made on the worst case scenario, including how much space was needed to ensure public safety should a billboard collapse.