Flooding swamps Tangerang<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Tangerang\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
More than 2,000 homes in Tangerang are under water on Tuesday,
\nwith rain continuing to pour down throughout the Greater Jakarta
\narea.<\/p>\n
The worst-hit areas, inundated by floodwaters two meters high,
\nwere located in Tanjung Burung, in the Teluk Naga district, near
\nthe Cisadane River.<\/p>\n
But residents remain reluctant to leave their houses.<\/p>\n
\"The water slowly rose to one meter high on Sunday ... we
\nstayed on because we expected it to recede quickly. Even now,
\nmany residents prefer to stay on their roofs,\" Unel, a resident
\nwho decided to leave her home, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Teluk Naga district head, Didi S. Wijaya, said that two
\nfamilies had been left homeless after their houses collapsed as a
\nresult of the floods.<\/p>\n
Heavy downpours, compounded by a high tide, caused the river
\nto overflow.<\/p>\n
\"The only way to deal with flooding here is to build a 1,000
\nmeter embankment along the river and to dredge mud from the
\nriver,\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
Floods have also disrupted at least 40 scheduled commuter
\ntrains traveling to Kota station, West Jakarta, on Tuesday, with
\nrailway tracks submerged in ankle-deep water.<\/p>\n
Consequently, trains traveling from Tangerang, Bekasi, and
\nSerpong could not reach their final destinations and had to stop
\nat unaffected stations, said Akhmad Sujadi, spokesman for the
\nJakarta division of state railway operator PT KAI.<\/p>\n
\"There are electronic components that move the wheels that are
\nlocated underneath the train, so it is dangerous to run through
\nwater above 10 centimeters,\" Sujadi was quoted as saying by
\nAntara.<\/p>\n
Normally, there are 326 scheduled electric trains catering to
\n450,000 passengers running every working day. About 40 percent of
\npassengers travel on the Bekasi-Jakarta, Tangerang-Jakarta, and
\nSerpong-Jakarta routes.<\/p>\n
Trains from Bogor and Depok were not affected as they traveled
\non other lines.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, water levels in several villages in the Bekasi
\nregency remained high on Tuesday. In the three villages of the
\nMuara Gembong district -- Jaya Sakti, Pantai Harapan Jaya, and
\nLenggah Sari -- floodwater reached two meters high.<\/p>\n
According to Bambang, a volunteer who helped evacuees, there
\nwere some 1,400 families affected by the floods in the three
\nsubdistricts.<\/p>\n
Some 20 families took refuge at the local mosque.<\/p>\n
\"Most of them prefer to stay with their houses,\" he was quoted
\nas saying by detik.com news portal.<\/p>\n
In the neighboring Cabangbungin district, 600 families were
\naffected by the flood up to Tuesday, but none had left their
\nhouses.<\/p>\n
In the capital, water continued to recede, enabling the city
\nadministration to further downgrade its flood alert status.<\/p>\n
Many flood evacuees have begun returning home to clean up
\ntheir houses.<\/p>\n
\"But we're staying on alert because thick clouds continue to
\nhang above the city,\" said one evacuee.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/flooding-swamps-tangerang-1447893297",
"image": ""
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