Jakarta floods 2009

While December was quite sunny and pleasant, the New Year has brought angry torrential downpours, massive cracks of frequent lightening, and of course, annual flooding. As some of you may know, I live in the north of Jakarta; within 3km of the ocean. Our area is at or below sea level, and therefore one of the first in Jakarta to flood if heavy rains occur. It’s one thing to hear or read of global warming, deforestation, and rising sea levels,Read more

Jakarta prepares for extreme tidal waves and flooding

From the US Embassy in Jakarta: (I live only about 2-3km from the ocean) U.S. Embassy Jakarta U.S. Consulate General Surabaya U.S. Consulate Medan Warden Message – Tidal Flood May 30, 2008 The US Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, informs American citizens that the World Bank warned that a record high tide is likely to flood North Jakarta next week. The tides are expected to be at an 18-year high and World Bank experts predict that flood waters could be upRead more

Keeping dry

How’s that umbrella workin out for ya buddy? Well, I’d love to come out with some dramatic story about our struggles to survive through the floods this year, but I’d be fibbing more than a little. After my previous post, (as I was watching the canal in front of my work flood over its banks) we were safely ‘evacuated’ to the Kristal Hotel (three bedroom full suite). I spent the weekend swimming in chlorine, not sewage. We decided things wereRead more

Jakarta floods 2008 – Welcome to the Suck

Well, ironically enough, it’s exactly one year to the day that we experienced flooding last year, and it’s happening again. If you’ve never seen my photos and writing from that experience, you may want to take a look. Starting last night, heavy rains have saturated Jakarta. Since I’m in the north part of the city, only 3km from the ocean, we’re at or below sea level, and even one day of rain can cause flooding. As I look out myRead more

United Nations brochure – my photos

A nice fellow from the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) emailed me asking for permission to use some of my photos for their project. A couple of my photos were used. Here’s a link to the full brochure. This particular photo was taken in front of my work place after the floods in Jakarta last month. The three white dudes are my coworkers/friends. I’m very pleased that something positive came out of me wading around in that filthRead more

Photography for a good cause

If my photography can, in any way, help others or be a conduit from Indonesia to the world, then I’ll feel as if I’ve accomplished something meaningful. Photography, on its own, is a passion of mine but rather than make money off of selling pretty prints, I feel much more fulfilled if I can somehow give back. I was hoping that my photos of the flooding in Jakarta could help voice how dire the situation was, and to help raiseRead more