Heavy rains and high tides have caused Jakarta chaos

Jakarta rains cause travel chaos, widespread flooding
Business Times 4 Feb 08;

(JAKARTA) Heavy rains and high tides have caused chaos in Indonesia's capital for three days, highlighting its ailing infrastructure as roads to the airport became impassable and thousands had to abandon their homes or cars.

The flooding also led to flight delays elsewhere in South-east Asia and served as a reminder to many travellers, including the investors and bankers that Indonesia most needs to attract, of the country's widespread structural problems.

Indonesia requires billions of dollars of investment to build or modernise its airports, roads, railways, and power plants.

Its economic growth has lagged far behind that of China and India, in part because of ailing infrastructure, and the government wants to privatise a raft of state companies, from steel plants to palm oil plantations, to raise much-needed funds.

But following the chaos on Friday, when the capital was brought to a standstill and thousands of people were trapped in traffic jams for over 12 hours due to flooding, some of the very financiers that Indonesia needs to help fund new infrastructure have vowed to avoid the place.

'Memo to self: do not visit Jakarta in the rainy season again,' wrote Hong Kong-based economist Jim Walker in a note to clients after he was stuck in traffic for nine hours trying to get to Jakarta's airport, a trip which usually takes no more than one hour.

'Today's traffic problems are an apt metaphor for Indonesia: stuck in first gear with long periods of sitting around waiting for the jam to clear. The country is stuck with lousy leadership, weak institutions and below-potential growth,' wrote Mr Walker, who now heads an independent research firm in Hong Kong and who for many years was CLSA's well-respected chief Asia economist.

One Jakarta-based banker, who had had to hitch a lift on an army truck for a four-hour ride through flooded roads back from the airport, said that their head office was told not to send out any more investors or staff to Jakarta until the flooding had subsided.

Every rainy season, Indonesia suffers from heavy flooding and landslides. Three people have died and about 100,000 were displaced in Jakarta since Friday due to the heavy rains and flooding.

The chaos in Jakarta also caused air traffic problems in other parts of South-east Asia. When the airport was closed for several hours on Friday due to poor visibility, many flights were delayed and others could not land, leading to long delays in other cities, including Singapore.

By yesterday morning, there were still more than 15 vehicles including vans, buses and trucks trapped in about 70 cm of water on the toll road to Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta airport and three cranes were brought in to move the vehicles out of the water.

Many cars had been abandoned by the roadside, and rubber boats were used to evacuate people still trapped inside or on the roofs of their vehicles. -- Reuters

Indonesian Floods Displace Thousands, Cause Chaos
Ade Mardiyati, PlanetArk 4 Feb 08;

JAKARTA - Heavy rain and high tides have caused chaos in the Indonesian capital for three days, forcing thousands to abandon homes or cars and cutting the roads to the airport, highlighting the city's inadequate infrastructure.

The flooding delayed flights elsewhere in southeast Asia and reminded travellers, including the investors and bankers Indonesia most needs to attract, of its pressing problems.

Indonesia needs billions of dollars of investment to build or modernise airports, roads, railways and power plants.

Its economic growth has lagged far behind that of China and India, partly because of its crumbling infrastructure, and the government wants to privatise many state companies, from steel plants to palm oil plantations, to raise urgently needed funds.

The chaos on Friday, when flooding brought the capital to a standstill and trapped thousands in traffic jams for more than 12 hours, pushed some of the financiers Indonesia needs to threaten to avoid the country.

"Memo to self: do not visit Jakarta in the rainy season again," wrote Hong Kong-based economist Jim Walker in a note to clients after taking nine hours to get Jakarta airport, normally a journey of no more than one hour.

"Today's traffic problems are an apt metaphor for Indonesia: stuck in first gear with long periods of sitting around waiting for the jam to clear. The country has ... lousy leadership, weak institutions and below-potential growth," wrote Walker, formerly CLSA's chief Asia economist, now head of an independent research firm in Hong Kong.

One Jakarta-based banker, who took four hours to get to town from the airport after hitching a ride on an army truck, said he had told his head office not to send any more investors or staff to Jakarta until the floods had subsided.

RAIN, FLOODS, LANDSLIDES

Every rainy season, Indonesia suffers from heavy flooding and landslides. Three people have died and 100,000 have been displaced in Jakarta since Friday because of rain and floods.

The chaos in Jakarta caused air traffic problems in other parts of the region. The airport was closed for several hours on Friday by poor visibility, meaning many flights were delayed and others could not land, leading to a backlog and long delays in other cities including Singapore.

On Sunday morning, there were still more than 15 vehicles stuck in 70 cm (28 inches) of water on the toll road to Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta airport and cranes were brought in to remove them.

"Passengers who are trapped in the floods are being evacuated with rubber boats and transferred to buses to take them to the airport," Wawan, of toll road management company PT Jasa Marga, told Reuters by telephone.

Rustam Pakaya, a health ministry official, said three people had died in west Jakarta and nearly 100,000 people were displaced, but few had reported diarrhoea or other problems.

Vera Yolanda Sari, a frustrated Jakarta resident, blamed the floods on poor planning and the clogging up of rivers by residents dumping trash.

"It is the city development that is not well planned, like constructing a building without considering the catchment area for water to be absorbed," said Sari.

Agus Subardono, deputy head of the city planning department, denied overbuilding was a key factor behind the floods. "It is the geographical location of Jakarta, on low land, and natural phenomena like high tides and heavy rain," Subardono said. (Writing by Sara Webb; editing by Tim Pearce)