Erratic Weather to Batter, Baffle Jakarta Through the Weekend

Putri Prameshwari & AP
Jakarta Globe 17 Jun 10;

Meteorologists on Thursday warned that extreme weather would likely continue across parts of the country over the next three days, as a landslide triggered by torrential rains killed eight people in Maluku — seven from the same family.

Ita Sabrina, a medical worker, said the bodies of the eight victims were found beneath mud and rocks in the village of Batugantung Dalam.

The landslide occurred in the middle of the night, killing seven members of the same family, including five children. Their neighbor, an elderly woman, also died. Several other people were hospitalized with injuries.

Kukuh Ribudianto, head of the division overseeing extreme weather forecasting at the national Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), said areas south of the equator, which includes Jakarta, should be prepared for extreme weather that could arrive unexpectedly and disappear just as quickly.

“This is an unusual condition for areas located south of the equator,” he said.

Kukuh said that although the country should be entering the dry season, rain would continue to fall in many provinces as a result of rising sea-surface temperatures.

In addition, with air masses concentrated over eastern Indonesia, air is flowing from east to west, he said.

“This will create heavy cloud cover above Indonesia,” he said.

Kukuh said the cloud cover would be concentrated over southern Sumatra, most of Java, West Papua and northern parts of Maluku and Sulawesi, bringing rain and thunderstorms.

“Our forecast says this will last until June 21,” he said, “but it could be longer.”

Extreme weather has soaked and confused the country over the last week, with rain and thunderstorms alternating with clear skies and sunshine in the same day.

Heavy rain on Tuesday forced seven flights bound for Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to be diverted to the city’s air base, Halim Perdanakusuma, and Palembang’s Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport.