FLOODS CRIPPLE JAKARTA FOLLOWING INCESSANT HEAVY RAINS By Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 5, 2014 (Antara) -  The floods in Jakarta, during the current peak rainy season, which started early in January 2014, have claimed 23 lives, displaced tens of thousands and caused losses amounting to around one trillion rupiah.

         Jakarta is notorious for its traffic jams, and the floods hitting the capital city during the current rainy season has worsened the congestion.

         Incessant heavy rains in Jakarta and its surrounding areas since Tuesday evening until Wednesday morning caused flooding in parts of the capital, including the presidential palace area on Merdeka Utara road and the elite Menteng area.

         Because of the floods, some roads were cut off and severe traffic jams were evident in a number of roads during the morning peak hours when people rushed to their places of work.

         The widespread flooding not only disrupted road traffic but also the railway.  The city's main railway station of Kota was inundated, preventing the entry of a number of trains from suburban areas such as Bekasi and Bogor.

         "Sorry, I cannot proceed to the office. My train stopped in Jatinegara because Kota railway station is flooded. All the passengers are stranded here. We are forced to return home," remarked Otniel Tamindael, Antara's editor who lives in Bekasi and commutes daily by train to his office on Merdeka Selatan road, which incidentally, was also flooded on Wednesday morning.

          Floods also surrounded Gator Subroto army hospital in Central Jakarta. A number of patients and doctors complained that the flooding had prevented them from reaching the hospital.

          According to the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation office (BPBD), the floods triggered by incessant heavy rains since Tuesday evening (Feb. 4), submerged 21 urban villages ("kelurahan") on Wednesday morning.
   The number of flooded urban villages increased from 19 on Tuesday, to 21 on Wednesday, Head of the BPBD Edy Junaedi Harahap stated.

         The floods have affected 96,593 people or 29,666 households in 21 urban villages across nine sub-districts.

         Some 16,135 people were displaced by the flooding. They were being accommodated in 62 emergency shelters set up throughout the capital city, he noted.

         In East Jakarta, the floods reached a height of about 30 cm to 250 cm, submerging six urban villages - Kampung Melayu, Bidara Cina, Cililitan, Cawang, Balekambang and Cipinang Melayu.

         Some 7,459 families consisting of 23,302 people were affected by the floods which displaced 4,932 people.

         In South Jakarta, the floods with depths of 10 cm -120 cm inundated eight urban villages - Rawajati, Pengadegan, Manggarai, Bukit Duri, Kebon Baru, Pondok Pinang, Petogogan and East Pejaten.

         The flooding affected 2,806 households consisting of 11,162 people and displaced 2,499.

         In Central Jakarta, only Petamburan was flooded with water 60 cm high.

         In West Jakarta, six urban villages were flooded - Rawa Buaya, Duri Kosambi, Jelambar, North Kembangan, South Kedoya, Tegal Alur and Semanan.  Some 19,401 households or 62,129 people were affected and 8,0704 others were displaced.

         On Tuesday, the local BPBD reported that 95,945 of its residents were affected by floods due to incessant rains in the capital city since Monday night until Tuesday morning.

         Based on data available with the BPBD, flood waters inundated 19 urban villages in nine sub-districts, affecting 487 neighborhoods (RTs) and 69 groups of neighborhoods (RWs), affecting 95,942 people or 34,698 households.

         Apart from that, a total of 14,308 victims were forced to evacuate to 51 locations across the capital city, Edy Junaedi pointed out.

         The floods have damaged large swathes of Jakarta's 619 road sections and the surrounding areas, leading to a large number of potholes.

         The Jakarta Police's Traffic Director Senior Commissioner R. Nurhadi Yuwono stated that his team had called for a coordinating meeting with the city's public works office to discuss road repair efforts.

         "The flooding has damaged roads, forming potholes of small and large diameters. The inflicted damages have led to traffic jams and accidents," Nurhadi Yuwono noted, here on Wednesday.

         In Central Jakarta, there were 120 potholed road sections, and 27 were repaired by the public works office. In North Jakarta, there were 136 potholed road sections and only seven were repaired, he added.

         In West Jakarta, there were 91 potholed road sections and 52 were fixed. In South Jakarta, there were 157 potholed road sections, and no repairs have been done yet, he explained.

         Earlier, Chief of the Jakarta Public Works Office Manggas Rudi Siahaan pledged that the Jakarta provincial government will jump into action to improve the road sections damaged by flooding.

         Rudi also claimed that the total area of roads damaged, among others, include Central Jakarta with 3,871 square meters, North Jakarta with 80,857 square meters, West Jakarta with 14,625 square meters, South Jakarta with 16,585 square meters, and East Jakarta with 24,760 square meters of damage.

         The Jakarta public works office has allocated at least Rp6.285 trillion for the repairs of the damaged roads in Jakarta. ***3***
(f001/INE/H-YH)