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Floods Soak City in Midst Of Very Soggy ‘Dry Season’
Nurfika Osman | July 09, 2010

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peterR
6:25am Jul 9, 2010

Climate change is real. And while companies like Sinar Mas, who seem determined to pulp every square meter of Indonesia's forests, are allowed to get away with mass deforestation in the name of profit, we all, especially our kids and grand kids, better get ready for far worse in the future.

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It is supposed to be the dry season, but the weatherman says you should probably not leave your umbrella at home until the end of the month.

Extensive surface flooding played havoc with traffic and pedestrians across Jakarta on Thursday morning after unseasonably heavy rainfall.

Affected areas included the main thoroughfares of Jalan Rasuna Said, Jalan Gatot Subroto, Jalan Sudirman, Jalan Casablanca and Jalan Thamrin.

Police calls for motorcyclists to avoid sheltering under traffic overpasses and pedestrian bridges to minimize congestion were ignored by many.

Traffic was particularly bad throughout the city, including the Karang Tengah-to-Tomang toll road in West Jakarta, with cars backed up 10 kilometers.

Jakarta Traffic Police posted a warning on their Web site and through Twitter for drivers to be alert for slippery roads and the possibility of falling trees, branches or billboards.

The Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said most parts of the country would experience medium-to-high-intensity rainfall throughout July, because of the late onset of the dry season.

BMKG climate division head Endro Santoso told the Jakarta Globe that conditions were similar to those during the same month in 1998.

“The end of El Nino and start of La Nina activities in the central Pacific Ocean are influencing the weather,” he said.

“It’s causing cooler ocean temperatures, which leads to the unseasonable rain patterns that we’re witnessing now.”

Warmer-than-usual temperatures in the waters around Indonesia were also a factor, he said.

Sudden rains could be expected particularly after sunny morning weather. Endro said this was caused by a low-pressure front over western Sumatra.

“There are some disturbances in the climate this year, which bring about extreme conditions like this,” Endro said.

He also said the dry season this year would be shorter than in previous years, with the late start not necessarily pushing back the start of the wet season, which is expected to begin in November.

BMKG forecaster Hamid said Thursday’s heavy rain also affected the satellite cities of Tangerang to the west of the capital and Depok to the south.

The BMKG has warned of flooding in South Jakarta, Depok and Bogor.

The weather office expects sporadic heavy rains to continue all through the weekend and well into next week.