38,000 families to suffer from floods

38,000 families to suffer from floods

The city social welfare agency announced on Thursday that some
38,000 families would likely be affected by floods early next
year.

The agency's social protection division head Nandi Tjaspandi
revealed that the agency had proposed a fund of Rp 2 billion from
the current budget to help flood victims.

"But the fund will only be enough to assist 10,000 of the most
severely affected families," Nandi told reporters.

He said the fund would also be used as an honorarium for 932
volunteers that will help the victims, including setting up
communal kitchens.

The Rp 2 billion fund is less than the Rp 4.5 billion fund
that was collected during a charity night earlier this year for
flood victims.

The Rp 4.5 billion fund became an issue when Governor Sutiyoso
decided to hand over the fund to non-governmental organization
ICE on Indonesia, which is led by television presenter Irma
Hutabarat.

Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo announced on Tuesday that the
administration decided not to use the budget to take flood
prevention measures, but instead to make preparations to assist
residents in 169 flood-prone areas. --JP