JP\/6\/TIGOR<\/p>\n
Jakarta's floods not
\nat disposal of God<\/p>\n
Azas Tigor Nainggolan
\nChairman
\nForum of Jakarta City Residents
\n(FAKTA)<\/p>\n
People say there is nothing new under the sun. This old adage
\nalso applies to floods. The months of January and February 2002
\nwitnessed how, for the umpteenth time, the city of Jakarta fell
\neasy victim to a massive deluge.<\/p>\n
Floods have been part of Jakarta for hundreds of years. In
\n1699, because of the eruption of Mount Salak, the city was
\ninundated. Then the denuded forest areas in Puncak, Bogor, caused
\ngreat floods to submerge the city in 1711, followed three years
\nlater by big floods that paralyzed economic activities in Jakarta
\nand led to an outbreak of the plague.<\/p>\n
The city was hit by massive flooding in 1854, while the 20th
\ncentury saw Jakarta swept by great floods in 1942, 1976 and 1996.
\nSurprisingly, neither the central government nor the Jakarta city
\nadministration has made a systematic and comprehensive effort to
\nfree the city from the danger of floods.<\/p>\n
The great deluge that hit Jakarta in February 2002 claimed 52
\nlives and sent about 97,380 families or 365,435 people from their
\nhomes, many of which were submerged in water that reached over
\nthree meters in height.<\/p>\n
The floods claimed many victims and inflicted great material
\nlosses because the city administration from the start failed to
\nmake proper preparations against the deluge. Then, when much of
\nthe city was submerged, the city administration did little to
\nhelp the victims.<\/p>\n
On March 13, Jakartans who fell victim to the flooding filed a
\nclass action suit against President Megawati Soekarnoputri,
\nJakarta Governor Sutiyoso and West Java Governor Nuriana, at the
\nCentral Jakarta District Court.<\/p>\n
Eight months later, however, the court dropped the suit,
\nsaying the floods fell under the acts of God and therefore the
\ngovernment could not be held accountable. The presiding judge
\nsaid that the government, in this case the President and the
\ngovernors, had done a lot to cope with and overcome the floods
\nand flood-related problems, for example by issuing relevant
\nregulations and instructing residents to prepare for flooding.<\/p>\n
The class action suit filed by the flood victims was a proper
\nstep to take, as neither the central government nor the Jakarta
\nadministration had made any serious or significant efforts to
\nensure that Jakarta was flood-free.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta administration, for example, has both failed to
\nmaintain and continue the efforts of the Dutch colonial rulers to
\nimprove the capital's water and flood-control systems.<\/p>\n
As of January 2002, the Jakarta city administration possessed
\nonly 37 water pumps. Of this number, only 26 pumps are operated
\nby the city's Public Works Agency. With 40 percent (26,000
\nhectares) of the entire 65,000-ha territory of Jakarta below sea
\nlevel, the city does not have the facilities to properly prepare
\nitself against flooding on even the smallest scale.<\/p>\n
Also, Sutiyoso has said the city administration has only 54
\nrubber boats, far from enough for all the flood-prone areas.<\/p>\n
Recently, the weather forecasts for Jakarta have called for
\nclouds and rain. Surprisingly, as of this November, there have
\nbeen no signs that the city administration has done anything of
\nsignificance to provide the city with proper facilities and
\ninfrastructure to ensure there will be better flood management.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta administration itself did not organize a roll-call
\nrally against flooding until Nov. 16. And this rally gave the
\nimpression of being only a ceremony of sorts meant to fool
\nJakarta residents. On this occasion, Sutiyoso lightly said that
\nthis rainy season Jakarta would not experience the great floods
\nof last January and February, given reports of reduced rainfall
\nlevels by the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.<\/p>\n
A leading Jakarta-based newspaper rightly wrote that "we are
\nnow busy voicing opinions; when the floods go and our attention
\nwill likewise go, until we are shocked by the arrival of another
\nflood".<\/p>\n
The great deluge that swept much of Jakarta early this year
\nclaimed lives and inflicted huge material losses on the residents
\nof Jakarta and on the city administration itself. The central
\ngovernment and the city administration could have minimized, if
\nnot averted, these huge losses.<\/p>\n
The two major mistakes that the government -- particularly the
\ncity administration -- committed and that were made the basis for
\nthe class action suit by the victims, were the failure of the
\ngovernment to implement an early warning system and the failure
\nto put in place an emergency response.<\/p>\n
Solving the problem of flooding must involve residents, and
\nalso requires the seriousness and consistency of the Jakarta
\nadministration in performing its duties to residents. The city
\nadministration must have a long-term plan and this plan must be
\nevaluated from time to time until it is fully realized.<\/p>\n
The flood that submerged many areas of Jakarta in 2002 was
\nnot an act of God. It was just ordinary flooding, as Jakarta is a
\nflood-prone city. Flooding like this can be predicted using all
\nthe sophisticated instruments at our disposal now. And if it can
\nbe predicted, we should also be able to do more to prevent it.<\/p>",
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