Floods: Same old story?<\/p>\n
The torrential rains that hit parts of Jakarta recently have
\napparently reminded people that it is time to switch anxieties --
\nfrom the scarcity of water due to the drought to the possibility
\nof flooding.<\/p>\n
It is reasonable for people in Jakarta to worry about floods,
\ngiven that the number of areas in the city vulnerable to flooding
\nhas increased. The latest records show at least 30,000 hectares
\nof Jakarta's 65,000 hectares of land are at risk of flooding,
\nspread across all five mayoralties.<\/p>\n
How, one might ask, could that be since the central
\ngovernment, the city administration and related institutions have
\nbeen working on flood control systems for decades?<\/p>\n
An environmentalist warned in the early 1980s that Jakarta
\nwould never be free from flooding because most of the city was
\nlowland.<\/p>\n
While nature offers us no choice, Indonesians have gradually
\nmanaged to ruin their own habitat by, among other things,
\nwillfully felling trees in river upstream areas, constructing new
\nbuildings in designated as green areas and dumping garbage
\nanywhere they see fit.<\/p>\n
The upstream areas of Bogor, Puncak and Cianjur -- all in West
\nJava -- are not as green as they were even as late as the 1970s,
\ndue to the uncontrolled building of villas, hotels and other
\nstructures in former woodlands and pastures. Mushrooming housing
\nprojects are another cause for the denudation of these upstream
\nareas.<\/p>\n
Even in Jakarta, people seem not to have learned anything
\nabout the danger of flooding. Waterways, gutters and canals have
\nfor decades been used as garbage dumps, despite the existence of
\nprovincial regulations against the practice.<\/p>\n
Sedimentation in most of the 13 rivers flowing through the
\ncapital is another serious problem, caused in part by those
\nliving along river banks. The daily dumping of garbage in gutters
\nand rivers has had a serious impact on the environment. Look, for
\nexample, at the clogged Manggarai River in South Jakarta, where
\nthe residents' significant contribution to the danger of flooding
\nis immediately apparent.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement appears to be a novel idea among government
\ninstitutions. Nevertheless, the city administration should draw
\nup reasonable plans to support a flood-control campaign, instead
\nof engaging in such exploits as cutting down trees to make space
\nfor statues and proposing the controversial reclamation of
\nJakarta coastal areas.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta administration apparently believes that the Rp 4.5
\ntrillion flood control project, known as Eastern Flood Canal,
\nwill be the best formula to free the city from flooding.
\nMeanwhile, though, many are skeptical that the project, which was
\nofficially begun in June this year, will be finished as scheduled
\ngiven the troubled land acquisition process. The fact that only
\n10 percent of the required land has been acquired means the dream
\nof a flood-free Jakarta will likely remain in the realm of the
\nimpossible.<\/p>\n
The administration's decision to dredge the city's rivers
\ndeserves appreciation. But dredging work on the Ciliwung, Krukut,
\nCakung, Grogol and Sunter rivers, as well as the Mookervaart
\ncanal and two other rivers in Pulomas, East Jakarta, and Pluit,
\nNorth Jakarta, has just began. The Rp 37 billion project will not
\nfree the city from floods, though the work will ease the flow of
\nwater in the rivers, and thus minimize overflowing in areas along
\nthe waterways.<\/p>\n
Residents, therefore, are well advised to be watchful,
\nespecially during rainstorms. In such a situation, speedy and
\naccurate warnings and information from the authorities is
\nrequired. The authorities must not make the same mistakes they
\nmade in February this year, when floods submerged many areas,
\nforcing thousands of residents to flee their homes. The flood
\nearly warning system did not work, and water-pump operators were
\nnot on alert when the flooding began at about midnight.<\/p>\n
With rainy days coming, both the authorities and residents
\nmust prepare for the worst-case scenario. And again, it is
\nimperative that the authorities encourage neighborhoods to do
\nwhatever is necessary to spare themselves the misery that floods
\ncan bring. Unless both residents and the authorities are
\nprepared, we are likely to see the same old story repeat itself
\nfrom year to year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/floods-same-old-story-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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