BMKG warns of heavy rain in Greater Jakarta

JAKARTA. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has said the Greater Jakarta area will likely see heavy rainfall starting on Monday and continuing through to Wednesday.  

BMKG spokesman Hary Tirto Djatmiko said the agency also predicted that the rainfall would increase in intensity from Monday onwards.

Moreover, high intensity rainfall is expected to occur in several provinces throughout Indonesia such as West Sumatra, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung, South Sumatra, Jambi, Lampung, Banten, Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and the southern part of Papua.

"Considering the high potential of rainfall in Indonesia, we urge people, especially those living in mountainous areas, to prepare for flash floods and landslides," Hary said in a statement sent to thejakartapost.com, adding that the BMKG also called on disaster-prone areas to take special precautions.

Rain with strong winds struck Jakarta on Sunday, causing the roof of a gate on the Cikunir II toll road to collapse. The toll road authorities temporarily closed the road and directed traffic to the Halim area. No casualties were reported in the incident.

Mohammad Sofyan, the corporate secretary of toll road operator Jasa Marga, said the company would repair the gate and allow vehicles to pass through once more within two days.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) also warned of possible floods in several areas throughout the capital.

Despite heavy rain on Sunday, the water levels of some rivers in Jakarta were still normal and under the alert 4 level.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said some of the puddles discovered in Jakarta on Sunday were the result of Jakarta's substandard drainage system.

"The capacity of the drainage system is smaller than the runoff," he said on Sunday, adding that the BNPB, in collaboration with the city administration, had prepared a Quick Response Team to respond to flooding problems at any time. (Callistasia Anggun Wijaya)