Jakarta flood victims now hit by disease, depression<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As floods have begun to recede in the last few days another
\nthreat has emerged. Hundreds of thousands of evacuees throughout
\nthe city are now suffering from various illnesses and emotional
\ndistress.<\/p>\n
The City Health Agency has recorded that about 380,000 flood
\nvictims are suffering from various illnesses, mainly influenza,
\ndiarrhea and skin ailments.<\/p>\n
Flood victims have put the blame on the lack of clean water.<\/p>\n
Thames PAM Jaya and the Jakarta administration have deployed
\n12 water tanker trucks to temporary shelters throughout the city
\nbut still the number of trucks is far from sufficient for the
\nthousands of evacuees.<\/p>\n
Some evacuees in Halim Perdanakusumah area in East Jakarta had
\nto make use of the muddy floodwater to wash their clothes while
\nothers used it to bathe. In Cipinang Besar, in the same
\nmunicipality, some evacuees -- specially children suffering from
\ndiarrhea -- used the floodwater to defecate.<\/p>\n
Should no clean water be available in the near future,
\nphysical conditions will worsen.<\/p>\n
Besides physical illness, most evacuees also suffered from
\npsychological problems.<\/p>\n
\"We are feeling cold and tired but we are also feeling very
\ndisappointed, neglected and angry,\" said Husen, one of the flood
\nvictims in Cipinang, East Jakarta, whose house was flooded up to
\ntwo meters.<\/p>\n
On Monday morning, the water level in his house dropped to
\nonly 40 centimeters. However, some parts of the house were
\ndamaged while the floor was covered by thick mud and smelly
\ngarbage.<\/p>\n
\"We all felt depressed and have been complaining all the
\ntime,\" he said, adding he had no idea who to blame.<\/p>\n
Many other residents in inundated areas also experienced
\ndepression.<\/p>\n
An evacuee, Misno, said they had been assisted by a non-
\ngovernmental organization during the flood.<\/p>\n
\"When we first sought refuge, we were only able to stay on the
\nside of a road. Later on an organization helped us set up a
\ntemporary shelter,\" he said, adding evacuees could only rely on
\nhelp from individuals or private companies in the area.<\/p>\n
In a shelter in Cipinang Besar, the city administration only
\nhanded over two tons of rice, 1,000 packaged meals and medicines.
\n\"We have distributed half of the rice and medicines to the
\nresidents here,\" claimed an officer.<\/p>\n
The figure was insignificant compared to assistance from the
\npublic.<\/p>\n
Many shelters in the city had not received adequate assistance
\nfrom the administration by Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Shelters set up in the open air, including the one in a
\ngraveyard in Cipinang, could hardly protect the evacuees from bad
\nweather due to the shortage of mats and blankets.<\/p>\n
Worse still the administration had missed several shelters
\nwhen distributing aid to the evacuees, such as the one in Halim.<\/p>\n
Not all the aid could be made use of by the residents. Rice
\nand instant noodles were barely touched as they had no cooking
\nequipment.<\/p>\n
\"How can we cook if our pots and pans are left submerged in
\nour houses? How can we cook without clean water?\" complained a
\nfemale evacuee.<\/p>\n
As of Monday, the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Forum for
\nthe Environment (Walhi) had received at least 30 complaints from
\nmiddle-class Jakartans, claiming to be victims of the flood, who
\nwere ready to file a class action against those responsible for
\nthe environmental damage.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso announced the administration would use an
\nemergency fund, amounting to Rp 505 billion (US$49 million), for
\nan after-flood rehabilitation program.<\/p>\n
Fifteen trucks brought food and clothes, including underwear,
\nfor flood victims in the city's five municipalities on Monday.<\/p>\n
The aid was bought using part of a Rp 1 billion fund from the
\nMinistry of Social Affairs and Rp 200 million from the Gandhi
\nMemorial School.<\/p>\n
The ministry and Jakarta Youth Wing, comprising 23
\norganizations, also delivered some basic commodities to flood
\nvictims. Embassies, schools and private companies have been
\nworking hand-in-hand to help to flood victims around the city.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-flood-victims-now-hit-by-disease-depression-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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