Jakarta dry season forecast to begin in April

JAKARTA. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts that the rainy season in Jakarta will end in March and that the dry season will begin in April.

BMKG spokesman Harry Tirto said the month of March was expected to see 300 to 400 millimeters of precipitation. “We predict that rainfall in April will be about 150 to 200 mm. Meanwhile, rainfall in May will be 150 to 200 mm per month as well,” he said to The Jakarta Post over the phone.

The BMKG categorizes 0 to 100 mm per month as low rainfall intensity, 101 to 300 mm as medium and anything above 400 mm as very high.

Although this rainy season saw lower precipitation than last year’s 400 to 500 mm, residents of Kampung Pulo, located on the banks of the Ciliwung River in East Jakarta, still experienced numerous floods.

Nevertheless, a central government project to widen the river and install a concrete embankment has reportedly helped reduce the intensity of floods in the Kampung Pulo area.

To allow for that project, the city administration has evicted some 1,040 families that used to live along the riverbank. The central government only provided 527 low-cost rental apartments nearby, leaving the remaining 500 families to fend for themselves.

Many have lost their livelihoods as well, because their new living arrangement in the subsidized apartments cannot accommodate their informal-sector businesses.

But other Kampung Pulo residents that were not evicted in August last year said the river project was good news for them, although the neighborhood is still inundated by water almost everyday throughout the rainy season.

The head of Neighborhood Unit (RT) 13, Edin, 60, said his neighborhood saw some improvement after the eviction. “Before the relocation, the water reached our rooftop,” he said on Sunday. “Even when the rain is heavy, the water of the Cilliwung river won’t inundate our houses.”

Repar, head of RT 12, expressed a different opinion, saying that the city administration had yet to fulfill its promise of mitigating floods in his area. The only improvement he had seen was the existence of water pumps that could reduce the water level in times of floods.

“Ahok always says on TV that Kampung Pulo residents should be thankful to him, but I don’t feel like there is much improvement here,” he said, referring to Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama.

Ahok has defended the eviction as a necessary measure to reduce floods.

During a meeting with non-government organization Ciliwung Merdeka in City Hall on July 24 last year, Ahok said he had his own version of human rights to defend his eviction policy. Footage of the meeting was uploaded on YouTube by the city administration.

“If people ask me what is your human rights concept? I want 10 million people to live, and if 2,000 people defied me, and put the 10 million in danger, then I would murder [those 2,000].”

Repar challenged the governor to come and see for himself whether reality there was according to his plan. Elevated water levels was something his residents faced on a daily basis, even when it was not raining, he said, adding that the flooding was also caused by trash thrown into the river by people outside Kampung Pulo.

“We have to clean the trash ourselves even though the city has recruited garbage collectors and the Infrastructure and Public Facility Management Agency to do the job,” he said.

Arifin, who is currently tasked by the Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Control Office (BBWSCC) with operating water pumps in Kampung Pulo, said he had to be on standby 24 hours a day to ensure the water would not inundate houses. On the job for six months, he said the water level was influenced by rain occurring in Depok and Bogor.

“We work in a team. One unit comprises two people,” he said, adding that the work was divided by shifts.