T

he festive holiday mood is over as Jakartans are told to prepare for possible flooding. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) revealed on Monday that the rainy season would peak from mid January to mid February.

“Heavy rain is expected in the next three days in several parts of the city but by the end of this month, torrential rain will cover almost all areas in Jakarta,” said Kukuh Ribudiyanto, chief of the BMKG extreme weather division.

“The southern part of Jakarta will have more than 60 millimeters of rain per hour on Tuesday and Wednesday. Other areas will have less than 50 millimeters of rain per hour,” he said.

Residents in northern areas of Jakarta, Kukuh said, would face a double threat of flooding due to high tides, which are predicted to arrive between Jan. 10 and 11 as well as between Jan. 22 and 23.

“The high tides will result in parts of northern Jakarta being inundated to a depth of between 1.2 and 2 meters,” said Kukuh.

Kukuh said that his agency would update the weather forecasts every three days.

The Jakarta administration said that it would be more prepared for the upcoming flood than it was in 2007, when the city was badly hit by major flooding.

Tarjuki, head of the Public Works’ Agency water resource management division, said on Monday that the administration had made significant improvements in the past five years.

“We are more prepared today than we were in 2007. Should extreme weather hit us the way we were hit five years ago, I believe massive flooding will not happen,” Tarjuki said.

The operation of the East Flood Canal in 2009, he said, was one of the major improvements.

The worst flooding in Jakarta’s history inundated about 70 percent of the city in 2007, killing at least 57 people and driving more than 450,000 from their homes.

The agency has completed work on 123 flood-prone areas across the city. The administration has proposed
allocating Rp 557 billion (US$61.27 million) for flood control programs next year, including money to finish the East Flood Canal and several dredging projects.

On the other hand, city residents have made their own preparations for the flooding.

Imam Suryana, a resident of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, said that his family had started to store staple foods and kerosene in anticipation of floods hitting the area.

Imam, whose home was inundated during the 2007 floods, said that he would evacuate his family should the flood be worse than five years ago.

“I have asked my brother in South Jakarta to let us stay in his home for a few days,” he said.

Imam said that information about the latest weather forecasts was sufficient thanks to the intensive media coverage of the flooding issue.

“It is really helpful that we can get the latest flood-related information quickly,” he said. (lfr)