Indonesia: West Kalimantan on high alert for floods

The Jakarta Post 1 Mar 16;

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has issued an early warning regarding rain that is predicted to be accompanied by strong winds and thunder across West Kalimantan in early March.

All 14 regions in the province are expected to experience light to medium rain, resulting in the threat of medium-level floods.

The warning came after earlier floods inundated a number of regencies in the province, including Ketapang, Landak, Bengkayang and Melawi, with an average depth of over 1.5 meters.

“Should heavy rain fall again, it is likely that more flooding will occur,” M. Soje of Melawi said on Monday, in response to the warning.

Levee Breaks After Hours of Rain, Flooding Homes in Bekasi
Mikael Niman Jakarta Globe 29 Feb 16;

Bekasi. Various parts of Bekasi in West Java were flooded on Sunday (28/02) when a levee broke in the city, situated on the eastern outskirts of Jakarta, following several hours of rain.

The breach was reported at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Kali Bekasi Dam in the Margahayu area of East Bekasi, where two rivers, the Cikeas and Cileungsi, converge.

"The water entered our homes chest deep," Slamet, a resident of Margahayu, the worst-affected area, said on Monday.

Also affected were Teluk Pucung in northern Bekasi, which was submerged by up to 1.5 meters of water; Central Kaliabang (70 centimeters); Jatirasa (50 cm); and Harapan Baru (30 cm).

The water started to recede in the early hours of Monday as officials from the city's Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) raced to stop the breach temporarily with sandbags.

"Our officers are coordinating with the authorities [BPBD] to prepare an emergency post and obtain inflatable rubber boats to assist flood victims," Bekasi District Police spokeswoman First Insp. Puji Astuti said.

While no fatalities had been reported, more than 700 families were affected by the flooding. Some of them have opted to stay with relatives in other parts of the city.

Medium-intensity rain, which lasted approximately six hours, started falling at around 5 a.m. on Sunday over much of the Greater-Jakarta area. Rain also fell in the West Java districts of Karawang, Subang, Purwakarta, Cianjur and Sukabumi – the source of many rivers that flow through the capital.

The rain caused water levels of several dams to rise with some reaching critical levels.