JAKARTANS ON THE ALERT FOR FLOODS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 15 (ANTARA) - The Jakarta regional government has asked its residents to be ready for possible widespread flooding in various parts of the capital city, particularly for flash floods from the mountainous areas of Puncak and Bogor that saw incessant rainfall on Tuesday.          The Jakarta Natural Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD DKI) said it was ready to tackle flooding from the Katulampa sluice, the major sluice gate through which floodwaters from Bogor flow in to Jakarta.          "We have established integrated flood monitoring posts, such as the one in the Sports Hall in Jalan Otista, in East Jakarta," BPBD DKI head Iwan Samosir said here on Tuesday.          Other than Otista, the agency has also set up a number of emergency posts, such as the health service post in the Bidara Cina district and another one near Budi Aish Hospital.          BPBD DKI will also work together with the Public Order Security Agency (Satpol PP) to evacuate victims. Up to now, there are some 650 flood evacuees at the Jatinegara healthcare post in East Jakarta.          Deputy head of Jatinegara subdistrict, Manson, stated that two villages, Kampung Melayu and Kelurahan Bidara Cina, have been affected by floods in East Jakarta.             "Almost all areas in Kampung Melayu are now inundated by floodwaters" he said at Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta on Tuesday.          Earlier in the day, a BPD DKI official noted the rising water levels at the Manggarai dam in East Jakarta.         "The increasing water level at Manggarai dam forced us to raise the alert status to level III. It was implemented at 8am, and the water level reached 780 centimetres by 8.15am," said Tasman, an officer of the agency, in an interview to ANTARA here on Tuesday morning.         He pointed out that the water level touched 775 cm at 8.45am.         Tasman urged the people living along the river's banks to prepare for evacuation.          Therefore, residents of Jakarta are bracing themselves for possible floods on Tuesday evening after heavy rainfall in the upstream areas of Puncak and Bogor. Jakarta has been facing incessant downpours over the past two days.         "We have prepared ourselves. Flood has become an annual event for us," said Andi, a resident of Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta.         According to ANTARA reports, people in Kampung Pulo have placed their electronic goods and other valuables to the second floor of their houses. Meanwhile, children, pregnant women and elderly people have been moved to safer places.          Earlier, BPBD spokesman Iwan Samosir said emergency centres had been established in several locations of the city. The centres will be equipped with food supply, blankets, medicine and doctors.         Up to now, two subdistricts in Jakarta, Kampung Melayu and Bidara Cina, have been hit by floods.          Meanwhile, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) for Jakarta deployed 200 volunteers to help the city's residents who were affected by the flooding in various parts of the city.          "The PMI has prepared 200 volunteers since the rain began at 1 pm, who will remain on the alert at flood-prone points and help evacuate residents," said Arifin Muh Hadi, the Head of the disaster mitigation division of PMI, here on Tuesday.        The volunteers are grouped under Volunteer Corps (KSR), Sibat (People-Based Disaster Management Team), PMI staffers and officers, he noted.          West Jakarta PMI office responded to the floods by deploying personnel from Sibat and other volunteer groups to carry out evacuation operations, build tents, and set up public kitchens for the 1,300 flood victims in Rawa Buaya village.          The West Jakarta PMI branch also provided the victims with health services in cooperation with Cengkareng healthcare centre.          West Jakarta has become vulnerable to floods over the past two days.          Heavy rainfall on Sunday morning triggered a 1-metre-high flood in Pesing sub-district, Kalideres, West Jakarta, forcing the Trans-Jakarta Busway operator to close the bus lane to the Kalideres Terminal.          "There was no way other than closing the busway to Kalideres Terminal because of the flood waters in Pesing," Harmoni Central Trans-Jakarta Bus Stop official Arif Badri said.          The busway was closed for all Trans-Jakarta bus routes to Terminal Kalideres and vice versa, covering a total of 17 bus stops, including five transit bus stops ¿ Pasar Baru, Juanda, Pecenongan, Harmoni, and Grogol. Grogol is the closest location to Pesing.          "Trans-Jakarta operation is open from 5 am to 10 pm, and we just received instructions from the  information centre to close the busway to Kalideres Terminal at around 10 am," he said.           Meanwhile, the Central Jakarta PMI deployed 40 volunteers, stationing 12 thereof at flood-prone areas, where would assist in setting up public kitchens.          The local PMI office also set up public kitchens in South Jakarta in the sub-districts of Cilandak, Tebet, Pancoran, Pasar Minggu and Bukit Duri.          In East Jakarta, a total of 40 volunteers were deployed to prepare dinner for some 2,000 flood victims in Kampung Melayu, Cawang and Bidara Cina villages.          Besides setting up public kitchens, PMI Jakarta also dispatched 10 inflatable boats, to be used in five different areas of the city, in anticipation of more floods.          It was predicted that Jakarta would face more floods in Tuesday evening because the water levels at the Katulampa sluice had reached 210 cm (level I alert).          Flooding is an annual problem for Jakarta during the rainy season. There are least 13 rivers flowing from mountainous areas of Puncak and Bogor in the south of Jakarta. They criss-cross the capital city before emptying into the sea in the north.***4*** (T.A014/INE/S012) (T.A014/A/KR-BSR/S012) 15-01-2013 21:20: