Beware of Bad Weather during the End of the Year Holidays
Bad weather is expected to hit Indonesia at the end of 2022. Residents, including those who will be on vacation or traveling ahead of the turn of the year, are asked to always be vigilant.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency predicted extreme weather, ranging from heavy rain and high waves to strong winds, in various regions of Indonesia at the end of 2022. Residents who plan to travel around New Year 2023 are advised to be aware of this situation.
Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno, after attending a limited meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the Jakarta Presidential Palace, on Monday (12/26/2022), also asked tourists to be careful and anticipate the extreme weather.
Sandiaga explained that there was potential extreme weather, such as rainfall and high waves, in some leading tourism destinations.
"Tourists must anticipate and be careful. Prioritize safety and continue to coordinate with the local authorities. And make sure that the tourist visits are safe, comfortable and pleasant," said Sandiaga.
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Previously, the head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati said separately that bad to extreme weather would continue until the beginning of the new year. This situation is caused by the movement of cold air from the highlands of the Tibetan mountains across Indonesia.
This was disclosed by Dwikorita in a coordination meeting with the Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi at the Port of Merak, Banten, on Saturday (24/12).
"Now [Saturday, 24 December 2022], the cold air has reached Sumatra, the Sunda Strait. The implications: there will occur strong winds, high waves and heavy rain to the extreme. Today the rain is still light, but from 26 December to the end of the year it will increase,” said Dwikorita.
Meanwhile, the wind, with a speed of 25-30 knots, has arrived first. "The wind has arrived first; the average speed is 25-30 knots. This needs to be watched out for in a number of shipping areas in Indonesia," said Dwikorita.
High waves
As a result of high waves, hundreds of travelers are also still stuck on Karimunjawa island, Jepara regency, Central Java. The Karimunjawa district government recorded 335 tourists who until Monday afternoon were still on Karimunjawa island.
Of these, as many as 185 people departed using travel services. The other 150 people left independently. "They are safe and healthy. The supplies they carry are also still sufficient," said head of Karimunjawa district Muslikin.
He said that this experience of tourists being detained due to high waves had happened before many times, including in 2021.
High waves are very likely to occur at the end of the year. This is like a routine natural cycle.
"High waves are very likely to occur at the end of the year. This is like a routine natural cycle. I recommend, during December to February, not to take a vacation in Karimunjawa to reduce the risk," Muslikin said.
Meanwhile, cloudy weather and even rain made tourist attractions in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Monday, look quiet. Only a few people were seen at Loang Baloq Beach, Mataram, which is usually crowded. Similar conditions were monitored in the coastal area along Batulayar, such as Duduk Beach and Senggigi Beach.
BMKG predicted the potential for heavy to very heavy rain accompanied by lightning and strong winds would occur in the period of 25 December 2022 to 1 January 2023. Besides rain, high waves from 2.5 meters to 6 meters will also hit NTB on 22-28 December 2022.
Separately, the head of the Pahawang Island Tourism Awareness Group, Suhendi, said that the enthusiasm of tourists to spend a year-end holiday at the beach was quite high. Since last week, tourist visits to Pahawang Island have amounted to more than 1,000 people per day and are predicted to continue to increase toward the end of the year.
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Officers from the Pesawaran Resort Police (Polres), Lampung, also patrolled a number of local beach tourist attractions. The officers urged visitors to supervise their children when swimming in the sea.
"Visitors who are not skilled in swimming are encouraged not to play at sea. Moreover, the sea waves are currently high," said the chief of the Pesawaran Resort Police unit, Adj. Comr. Mulyadi.
Enthusiasm of the tourists
Heavy rain that flushed the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah area (TMII) in Jakarta did not dampen the desire of tourists to visit. Since the reopening of the post-revitalization, TMII still has a special attraction for tourists.
Referring to the data given by TMII Public Relations, around 7,000 visitors packed TMII by 11:00 a.m. on Monday (12/26), when it rained heavily. This number is estimated to continue to increase; at 1:00 p.m. the total visitors even amounted to almost 12,000 people.
As an illustration, starting 24 December 2022, total visitors to TMII consistently amount to as many as 27,000 people per day.
In the period between Christmas 2022 and the New Year 2023, Taman Impian Jaya Ancol is still one of the preferred destinations for residents to enjoyl vacation time. The management noted that around 136,000 residents visited this place from 24 December 2022 until the afternoon of 26 December 2022.
Corporate communication head of Pembangunan Jaya Ancol Ariyadi Eko Nugroho explained, the peak of visits to Ancol is predicted to occur on 31 December 2022-1 January 2023, precisely ahead of the turn-of-the-year celebration.
The number of visitors to the Ragunan Wildlife Park, South Jakarta, is also predicted to continue to increase on the New Year holiday 2023. A member of the Service Staff and Community Relations of the Ragunan Wildlife Park, Wahyudi Bambang, said the number of visitors amounted to 76,881 people at the time of the Christmas holidays.
This number can jump even higher at the time of the new year. "Moreover, 1 January 2023 is Sunday. Certainly visitors have been waiting for the opportunity to visit tourist attractions," Wahyudi said, on Monday.
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For the sake of spending long holidays, some parents choose to visit shopping centers. One of the most visited is the special playground.
In Ciputra World, South Jakarta, for example, a crowd was seen in the Playtopia playground. A long queue was seen at the entrance of the playground. Parents seemed busy putting socks on their children’s feet so as not to slip while playing on various rides.
The head of the playground at Playtopia Ciputra World, Nisa, said that children and parent visitors are never quiet, whether on weekdays or weekends. However, on the weekend before Christmas and New Year, the number of visitors that comes increases.
The increase is approximately 30 percent when compared to previous months at the end of the year.
The number of visitors also increased at the children’s playground in PT Lippo Mall Indonesia. During the long year-end holiday, visitors to the Dino Xscape Lippo Mall Kemang playground, South Jakarta, and Wahana Dragon Lippo Mall Puri, West Jakarta, were always increasing.
Nidia N Ichsan, from the public relations and reputation management of PT Lippo Mall Indonesia, said the playground was devoted to serving visitors during the end of year holidays of Christmas and New Year. In addition to entertaining, the aim is also to increase the number of visitors.
"The increase is approximately 30 percent when compared to previous months at the end of the year. And, it is also greater than on ordinary weekends," said Nidia. (WKM/Z03/XTI/ZAK/V I O/ Z 1 1/ Z 1 5/ Z 0 9/ Z 01)
This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.