Floods paralyse Indonesian capital
Pastor Dale Morgan
Floods paralyse Indonesian capital*
JAKARTA, Feb 2 (AFP) Feb 02, 2007
Floods blocked roads and railways in Jakarta and thousands of people
abandoned their homes in low-lying areas as torrential downpours
virtually paralysed the Indonesian capital Friday.
Streets normally jammed with traffic were quiet as floods brought public
transport to a near-standstill, preventing many people from getting to
work or school.
"I have been waiting for my bus for almost an hour. They are very few
and far between and, when it comes, it is packed," said Hana, waiting in
Kampung Melayu bus terminal for a bus to her office in central Jakarta.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was also reportedly working from home.
Floods more than a metre (three feet) deep have forced thousands of
people to flee homes in lower-lying areas and districts along river
banks, following heavy rains that have lashed the capital since Wednesday.
Indonesian Red Cross volunteers were cooking and delivering food to
people stranded in their flooded homes or sheltering on the side of streets.
"We opened a public kitchen on Wednesday in East Jakarta for 2,300
people and in South Jakarta for 4,500 people," Indra from the Red Cross
crisis centre told AFP.
Teams in inflatable boats rescued women clutching their babies from
flooded houses in the worst-hit districts, television pictures showed.
In other areas people waded through waist-deep floods trying to get to
work while children played in the muddy brown waters, making the most of
a day off school.
The key M. H. Thamrin highway, which runs north to south through the
city, was flooded up to half a metre, causing traffic jams.
The Meteorology and Geophysics office said Jakarta could expect still
more rain over the next few days.
"There is the potential for more heavy rains this month such as what we
are experiencing these past few days in Jakarta, Bekasi and Tangerang,"
meteorologist Puguh told AFP.
He said the rainy season had arrived late and was expected to end in March.
"The situation is not as bad as during 2002 because there is only
moderate rain in Bogor and Depok," Puguh said.
Nearby Bogor and Depok are at a higher elevation and rain falling on
there could exacerbate the floods in Jakarta.
In 2002, floods killed as many as 40 Jakartans and some 300,000 were
forced to seek refuge in mosques, schools and even cemeteries.
State news agency Antara reported the main toll road connecting the
capital with Bogor was blocked, with Jakarta-bound traffic forced to
turn back 13 kilometres (eight miles) from the capital.
The main toll road connecting Jakarta and Tangerang was also closed and
most train services were cancelled or running very infrequently.
Batavia, the former Dutch colonial port from which Jakarta grew, was
built on marshland and some areas of the capital remain below sea level.