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LEFT HIGH AND DRY: A vendor sleeping in his flooded stall in north Jakarta. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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JAKARTA - MINOR floods caused by unusually high tides have slowed traffic and led to residents having to wade through water in low-lying parts of northern Jakarta every night since Tuesday.
But they breathed a sigh of relief as the severe surge of sea water predicted by the World Bank did not happen.
Favourable weather this week and reinforced embankments have acted as barriers to the flow of sea water into the mainland.
Still, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, while touring affected areas in Luar Batang, Muara Baru and Pluit, has been reminding residents to stay vigilant.
He also urged district officials to raise the embankments in some areas to prevent sea water from overflowing.
'I notice residents have remained calm as I visit them, as if nothing has happened in their neighbourhood,' he told reporters on Wednesday night.
A 2.2m high tidal wave hit the coast of northern Jakarta on Wednesday, causing overnight flooding which had receded by early yesterday.
An astronomical cycle that occurs around every 18 years caused the tidal wave, the World Bank's infrastructure unit said. People were stranded in their homes for several hours.
'The flood waters entered my house last night,' Jakarta resident Nursanti, 28, who lives in the Muara Baru area near the coast in northern Jakarta, told Reuters.
'In the house it reached my calves, and outside it is even worse, up to an adult's thigh.'
Days earlier, some residents in double-storey houses packed their belongings and moved them upstairs.
'Residents seem prepared for this flooding,' said Mr Fauzi. 'They know when to evacuate their belongings when there is tidal flooding.'
The sandbags and wire netting filled with stones have acted as barriers along the coast and prevented major flooding. But many roads remain passable to traffic.
Minibus driver Sinaga at Tanjung Priok told Kompas Online: 'The road was flooded in the morning but vehicles could still travel through because the water was only a few centimetres high.'
A similar high tide hit the Jakarta coast on May 8, when flood waters disrupted flights for several hours. But the main highway to the Jakarta international airport was not affected by the flooding this time.
Officials said this was because of barriers that had been built along the one stretch of the Sedyatmo toll road that is vulnerable to flooding.
Concrete sheet piles spanning 560m had been constructed along the stretch of toll road ahead of the predicted high tide this week.
The toll road management company, Jasa Marga, also reinforced the embankments with 10,000 sandbags, plywood planks and bamboo.
In addition, 17 mobile water pumps are also on hand to be used to pump out water should the road be inundated.
The Jakarta provincial administration also fortified seven embankments along parts of the coast in the northern part of the city.
But officials said the measures taken so far are only temporary.
A more permanent embankment is being planned.
Reports have shown that some of the embankments need urgent repairs as sea water could flow in during high tide, affecting residents in the coastal areas.
Jakarta is prone to flooding as 40 per cent of this city of 12 million people live below sea level.
The city is also sinking by up to 6cm a year and global warming is causing heavier rainfall and rising sea levels.
These factors are seen as contributing to even worse flooding in the coming decades.
Some measures are being taken, such as the dredging of flood canals, but billions of dollars more must be invested to prevent serious consequences, Mr Hahm was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
If no action is taken, 'Jakarta is going to be in real trouble', he added.
salim@sph.com.sg
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