Sea water inundates parts of Indonesia's capital

Channel NewsAsia 4 Jun 08;

JAKARTA: Sea water inundated parts of Indonesia's capital overnight, flooding homes in the north of the city with up to 70 centimetres (2.3 feet) of water, officials said Wednesday.

However, the waters, which poured into homes despite reinforced defences, were less severe than authorities expected, a North Jakarta public works official who identified himself as Eko told AFP.

The World Bank last week warned that the peak of an 18-year astronomical tide cycle would combine with storm surges to flood swathes of the capital, as well as shutting off the toll road to the city's international airport.

The airport road was untouched by the surging water and the early warning allowed the public works authority and residents to reinforce defences with makeshift sandbag and stone barriers, Eko said.

"We had been anticipating the high tides and warned people in flood-prone areas in North Jakarta to prepare for the floods caused by the high tides," Eko said.

The peak of the flooding hit between 9.00 pm (1400 GMT) and 11.00 pm Tuesday and was 2.06 metres higher than the standard sea level at Jakarta's Fish Market measuring station, public works official Fakhrurrazi said.

Despite gloomy warnings last week, the World Bank revised its forecast on Monday, saying that a reduced storm surge would mean defences in most of the city could contain the flooding.

Jakarta, a coastal city of over 12 million which is sinking under its own weight, frequently experiences flooding from higher than average tides. Sea water floods in May closed off the road to the airport. - AFP/ac

2m-high tidal wave floods parts of Jakarta
Straits Times 5 Jun 08;

JAKARTA - A TIDAL wave of more than 2m swamped parts of Jakarta overnight as the city government and citizens raced to hold the water back with emergency embankments, a government official said yesterday.

The height of the water was far greater than earlier predicted. The World Bank, which has been monitoring flooding and tidal waves in Jakarta, warned last week of a 1.2m tidal surge in parts of the city.

The authorities in the capital, which is home to more than 10 million people, had been preparing for the high tides with sand bags and wire netting filled with stones.

The tidal wave surged through areas near the coast for a few hours, leaving hundreds of people stranded in their homes, but the main highway leading to the airport was not affected. The water has receded, but officials said another tidal wave was expected last night.

'The flood waters entered my house (on Tuesday) night. In the house, it reached my calf, and outside, it is even worse, up to an adult's thigh,' said Ms Nursanti, 28, who lives in the Muara Baru area near the coast in northern Jakarta.

The tidal wave was a result of an astronomical cycle that occurs around every 18 years, the World Bank's infrastructure unit said.

Jakarta's public works agency is raising the height of seven embankments to help reduce the flooding, while toll road company PT Jasa Marga is building barriers to prevent further flooding.

Mr Budi Widiantoro, deputy head of the Jakarta public works agency, said the waves had risen to 2.2m on Tuesday night.

'We are still using emergency (embankments), using river rocks and sand bags, because the permanent embankments will only be finished in July or August,' he said.

Jakarta is often flooded in the rainy season, and can also be inundated by high tides in areas near the coast and in low-lying districts.

Some experts say flooding in Jakarta, which killed 50 people during the wet season last year and triggered more chaos in February this year, is caused by the reclamation of swamp areas.

Environmentalists say Jakarta is sinking because of excessive mining of ground water and the added threat from rising sea levels because of climate change.

REUTERS

Jakarta floods not as bad as expected
Today Online 5 Jun 08;

JAKARTA — Sea water inundated parts of Indonesia’s capital overnight, flooding homes in the north of the city with up to 70cm of water, officials said yesterday.

However, the waters, which poured into homes despite reinforced defences, were less severe than the authorities expected, a North Jakarta public works official who identified himself as Eko said.

The World Bank last week warned that the peak of an 18-year astronomical tide cycle would combine with storm surges to flood swathes of the capital, as well as shutting off the toll road to the city’s international airport.

The airport road was untouched by the surging water and the early warning allowed the public works authority and residents to reinforce defences with makeshift sandbag and stone barriers, Mr Eko said. “We had been anticipating high tides and warned people in flood-prone areas to prepare for floods caused by high tides,” he added.

Despite gloomy warnings last week, the World Bank revised its forecast on Monday, saying that a reduced storm surge would mean defences in most of the city could contain the flooding. :— AFP