Delays Expected as Flood Inundates Surabaya`s Purabaya Terminal

TEMPO.CO, Sidoarjo-The temporary, partial closure of the stretch of the Northern Coastal Road (Pantura) that runs between Surabaya and Probolinggo due to flooding around Pasuruan in East Java, has caused the late arrivals of west-bound buses heading toward Surabaya's Purabaya Terminal - which consequently causes delays in departure of around 1.5 hours to 2 hours.

"The floods in Pasuruan has yet to cause passengers to pile-up across the Terminals - that said, delays are to be expected," said the acting Head of Technical Operations for Surabaya's Purabaya Terminal, Soesandi Ismawan to Tempo on Thursday, June 30, 2016.

Ismawan said that passengers that around bound for the Banyuwangi, Jember, Situbondo, Lumajang, and Probolinggo, should expect delays due to the floods. According to Ismawan, delays have begun since this morning, and as per this evening, several buses have yet to arrive, so more delays are to be expected. "The worst delays were seen at 10.30 Western Indonesia Time (WIB)," he said.

The floods in Pasuruan were caused by heavy precipitation that poured across the region since Thursday, June 29, 2015, until early Friday, June 30, 2016, which caused Welang River in the Kraton District - whose course criss-crosses Pantura - to overflow and burst its banks. The resultant floods caused inundations of up to 50 centimetres across the affected stretch of Pantura.

As a result of the floods, the trunk route between Surabaya and Probolinggo has to be temporarily closed. "Traffic has had to be diverted towards Purwosari, Pandaan, and Porong," said the Secretary East Java's Surabaya Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Gangsar Sulistyo.