Flood waters down, but city still on alert

Flood waters down, but city still on alert
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite clear weather and receding waters on Saturday, the Meteorological and Geophysics Agency says Jakarta resident should brace for more floods before the end of the month.
The agency has predicted cloudy skies and heavy, prolonged rainfall in the coming weeks.
"The rains we had recently were caused by a weather pattern called the Madden-Julian oscillation, which increases the possibility of massive rains that may last from three up to four days," the agency's head of research and development, Mezak Arnold Ratag, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
The pattern, he said, usually affects weather in a region from 30 to 40 days.
Mezak said that flooding could also occur due to rainfall in upstream areas such as Bogor and Depok.
"In such cases, Jakarta would be heavily flooded again because the excess water would flow into the city," he said.
Mezak said the city would have been in a better situation this month if it had prepared its drainage system earlier.
The Jakarta Police's Traffic Management Center said that the number of flooded areas had dropped from 140 to 27 by Saturday.
Many people have returned to the houses they left to the waters on Friday.
Residents of Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta, which was inundated up to 1.5 meters deep in parts on Friday, have begun cleaning up their homes.
Mohammad Harris, a Kampung Pulo community unit chief, said that they were still ready for more floods.
"We are still on alert as it is the time of the year where the big floods come," he said.
Some areas of the city are still underwater.
Rawa Buaya of West Jakarta, suffered heavy flooding after the rain had stopped because the water level in the Angke River had risen and burst its banks.
A resident, Sriyono, said he had not been prepared for the floods.
"The water starts to rise quickly on Saturday morning," he said, adding that it was high as an adult's stomach on Friday.
The Sedyatmo toll road, the main link between the city and the international airport, was still flooded 50 cm deep on Saturday.
A lack of public transportation to the city meant many arrivals were left stranded at the airport, while passengers on their way there struggled to find alternative roads.
"We won't allow sedans or any low-level vehicles to cross the toll road," said Adj.Sr. Comr. Mujiana was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.
Thousands of people were left stranded by floods that affected 14 percent of the city's 267 subdistricts on Friday.
Water inundated main thoroughfares, railways and the runway of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. More than 3,000 residents were forced to leave their homes.
The Health Ministry's Crisis Management Center recorded at least three people dead on Friday due to drowning, while the Greater Jakarta division of state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api recorded Rp 550 million (US$57,894) of losses due to travel delays and railway deterioration.(anw/ewd)
Alternative routes to Soekarno-Hatta international airport
Route 1: Jakarta-Merak toll road, exit at Karawaci toll gate--Jl Imam Bonjol--T-intersection at Jl Merdeka--Jl Otto Iskandardinata--Jl Aipda.K.S.Tubun--Jl Marsekal Suryadarma--airport main gate
Route 2: Jl Ki Sama'un--Jl.K.S.Tubun--turn right to Jl Sungai Cisadane Pintu 10--airport main gate
Route 3:Jl Daan Mogot--Jl. Halim Perdanakusuma--Jl Husein Sastranegara--airport main gate
Source: The Jakarta Post