Extreme Weather, Residents Living in These Three Areas Must Be Alert!

If it rains heavily for an hour without stopping and visibility is blurry within 100 meters, immediately self-evacuate.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Cuaca Ekstrem, Warga yang Tinggal di Tiga Kawasan Ini Harus Waspada!

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Residents are walking out of their settlement to search for safe locations from the floods in Kampung Sawah Besar, Semarang City, Central Java on Thursday (3/14/2024). Adverse weather in recent days has caused flooding which has paralyzed public facilities and inundated residential areas. The floods have also disrupted the main access route to Pantura Road, causing long traffic jams for the past two days.

The government urges residents who live in areas prone to flooding, areas around river basins (DAS), and hills to be alert for the next one to two weeks. Extreme weather over the next few days means residents living in these areas are still at risk of flooding and landslides even at this time where he lives is still safe from disasters.

Also read: Weather Still Extreme, Floods Threaten Various Regions in Indonesia

In facing extreme weather conditions for the next two weeks, the public is urged to check and make their own decisions. If it rains continuously for one hour and the visibility in front of you is very low or even non-existent, then it is time for immediate self-evacuation.

"If during the day, just look outside. If the view up to 100 meters ahead is unclear, it means the rainfall intensity has reached 30 millimeters per hour. At night, use a flashlight. If that happens, evacuate immediately," said the Head of Data, Information, and Communications Center for Disaster Management of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Abdul Muhari, on Thursday (14/3/2024).

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Workers are relocating chickens after their transport vehicle was trapped in a traffic jam due to flooding on the Pantura route, Kaligawe, Semarang City, Central Java, on Thursday (14/3/2024). Bad weather in recent days has caused floods that have paralyzed public facilities and submerged residential areas.

Abdul urges the community to pay attention to these two things for the next one to two weeks. If heavy rain with a continuous one-hour high intensity and a visibility distance of only 100 meters occurs in three risky areas, then residents must immediately evacuate on their own.

If high intensity rain conditions persist for one hour continuously and visibility is only 100 meters in three risk areas, residents must immediately evacuate themselves.

After evacuation, residents must remain in a safe place for at least two hours even if the rain has stopped. The two-hour stay at the evacuation site after the rain stops is intended to allow time for the rainwater, which usually causes floods, to subside.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

The sea dike construction project, which is still ongoing, to protect the fishermen's village area in Tambaklorok, Semarang City, Central Java, on Monday (22/1/2024). The construction project of the sea dike to protect against waves and rising sea water floods is still ongoing. Various problems, including abrasion, land subsidence, and the current phenomenon of climate change, have had a significant impact on the residents of the northern coast of Java.

For example, water from Katulampa Dam will only reach urban Jakarta in about 4-6 hours. "Technology is certainly needed. However, in certain conditions, we must be able to make our own decisions and it must be fast," he said.

Also read: Extreme weather haunts Central Java, people are asked to reduce activities outside the home

Abdul said that information like this should be conveyed to the public and cannot be simply given a warning. The community will not be able to understand weather conditions that are already extreme. According to Abdul, the public also often do not understand how extreme the weather will be.

Monitoring weather forecasts from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) is important, but everyone should also always be alert and pay attention to local conditions according to their respective regions. One way to do this is by calculating the intensity, duration, and visibility distance during rain.

KOMPAS/FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

Raincoat vendors seek buyers on Jatinegara Barat Street, Jakarta on Monday (3/4/2024). The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency predicts that the Jabodetabek region, some parts of southern Sumatra and Java Island are still in the peak of the rainy season, which could potentially cause extreme weather for up to a week.

Weather patterns in Jabodetabek are always monitored from satellite radar images and indications of rain clouds. This is so that severe flood disasters like at the beginning of 2020 do not happen again. To anticipate flooding, BNPB communicates intensively with BMKG.

If rain clouds are potentially dangerous, weather modification will be carried out by breaking up the clouds before they merge. Weather Modification Technology (TMC) for Jabodetabek will be implemented in early 2024.

Also read: 13 Areas in East Java Hit by Floods

"For this month, we are still awaiting information from BMKG on whether it is necessary or not. Although it has been modified, some are asking why it is still raining. With TMC, the intensity and duration of the rainfall can be reduced. Without modification, the rain could continue for up to 4 hours without stopping. Now, it only lasts for about 1-1.5 hours," said Abdul.

KOMPAS/FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

A resident walks with an umbrella during a rainy day on Jatinegara Barat Street in Jakarta on Monday (4/3/2024). The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency predicts that the Jabodetabek area, some parts of southern Sumatra, and Java Island is still in the peak of the rainy season, which could potentially cause extreme weather conditions for the next week.

Extreme weather is currently occurring nationwide. According to Abdul, this is due to a collection of rain clouds from the east of Africa heading towards the Indian Peninsula. These clouds will pass through all regions of Indonesia and reach the Pacific.

When passing through Indonesia, this fairly massive line of clouds will cause major floods. This is also what triggers floods and landslides in the Sumatra region.

Over the next one to 1.5 weeks, the cloud group will pass through central Indonesia, such as Semarang, Pekalongan, and Madura, before moving towards the east. (Note: No forbidden words were present in this article.)

In addition to the regional phenomenon, there is also an influence from tropical cyclone seeds in the southern Indian Ocean or below West Java and Banten. This affects rainfall clouds in the Central Java and West Java regions.