The Jakarta Globe, January 19, 2013,
Water levels receded around Hotel Indonesia’s traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Saturday, as workers finished rebuilding a section of a canal dike which collapsed during Thursday’s floods.
“We’re applying a finishing touch; piling [the remaining] sandbags, completing the work,” Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo told Indonesian news portal kompas.com as he inspected the location in Menteng on Saturday
A 30-meter-long section of Jakarta’s West Flood Canal dike on Jalan Latuharhary in Menteng collapsed on Thursday, which caused flooding in nearby areas including the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and adjoining Jalan M.H. Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman, which form one of Jakarta’s main business districts.
The flooding also disrupted train services from Manggarai Station in South Jakarta to Tanah Abang Station in Central Jakarta, which had not returned to its normal schedule as of Saturday afternoon. Train services were also halted for routes connecting Jakarta and Tangerang.
“But the dike has started to function normally as proved with Thamrin [which is] no longer flooded,” Jakarta Public Agency chief Ery Basworo added.
Military soldiers, the Jakarta public works agency and public order officers joined forces to quickly replace the collapsed dike section with a temporary retaining wall made of rocks and sandbags.
Joko said the repair work had been earlier scheduled to finish on Friday evening, but there had been delays in deliveries of required materials because of the bad traffic.
He said the work was expected to be completed later on Saturday.
Vehicles were reportedly able to pass through Jalan Daan Mogot, Jalan S. Parman and the Outer Ring Road Kembangan in West Jakarta on Saturday, as water levels had dropped to only 30-centimeters high, from around one meter on Friday
za 19 jan 2013 - 23:27