Jakarta under water<\/p>\n
What millions of people in Jakarta had feared, has happened.
\nFloodwaters engulfed many parts of the capital on Thursday. As a
\nconsequence, in the early hours of the day, tens of thousands of
\nresidents had to leave their homes and belongings to seek refuge
\non higher ground as the water rose to more than one meter high in
\nmany places.<\/p>\n
As was the case last year, again, the early warning system did
\nnot quite work. There were reports that water-pump operators were
\nnot put on alert when the floods started to inundate residential
\nareas at around midnight. And when they were, some pumps did not
\nfunction.<\/p>\n
Again, the rescue operation system did was not work as
\nexpected. Most of the people in the affected areas had to find
\ntheir own way to safety. And worse, many chose to brave the
\nfloods and stay home to protect their homes and belongings from
\npossible looting. Only a few police officers were seen around the
\nflooded areas on Thursday.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising that many residents directed their anger
\nat Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and his entourage, who decided to
\ncruise through some affected areas in a boat.<\/p>\n
It seems that the capital city has not learned from last
\nyear's lesson, when floods submerged many parts of the city for
\nseveral days in early February and caused billions of rupiah in
\ndamage, claiming 34 lives and displacing nearly 400,000 people.<\/p>\n
Jakarta is prone to flooding, which occurs every year in the
\nrainy season in January and February. The city's vulnerability is
\ndue to the fact that much of its area lies below sea level
\nthrough which 13 rivers flow, carrying rain water from the higher
\nand deforested hinterland south of the city.<\/p>\n
The vulnerability increases at the same rate, at least, as
\nrate of the shrinkage of the catchment areas to the south. This
\nshrinkage has been going on for years, while there have been no
\nserious efforts to control it -- and not because of a lack of
\nregulations.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta city administration itself has worsened the
\nproblem by recklessly issuing property development licenses
\ncovering more and more areas that for centuries had been
\nfunctioning as natural catchment areas. Even mangrove forests,
\nwhich decades ago lined most of the seashore north of the city,
\nhave been rapidly disappearing and are being replaced by property
\ndevelopment which hampers the flow of water from the hinterland
\nto the south to the open sea in the north.<\/p>\n
Public pressure to impose a moratorium on construction in
\nwater catchment areas, not to mention to revoke existing
\nconstruction permits, obviously misbegotten, has fallen on deaf
\nears.<\/p>\n
Under these circumstances, whenever heavy rains fall on the
\ndeforested mountainous hinterland south of the city and at the
\nsame time heavy rains pour on Jakarta itself, disaster is
\nimminent. Add to that the fact that the sea tides are highest
\nduring the full moon, and the Indonesian capital city is rendered
\npowerless to fight the water, a victim of its own avarice.<\/p>\n
This weekend, will be a full moon. And there is a high
\nprobability of tropical storms bringing heavy rains. This time,
\nthe floods probably will not be as bad as those of last year. But
\neven so, Jakarta residents need to brace themselves for the
\nworst. More importantly, however, Jakarta badly needs to
\nacknowledge its high vulnerability to yearly flooding and
\nformulate some strategic plans to eventually control its negative
\nimpacts. No less important, it must prevent the further
\ndeterioration of the environment.<\/p>\n
All this is not the responsibility of the governor or the
\ngovernment alone. As it concerns the basic interests of the whole
\npopulation of the capital city, the people of Jakarta should
\nstand together and formulate their own agenda.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-under-water-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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