Boats float when floods bloat

Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post/Jambi

Siti, not yet five years old, looked at her grandmother, Ibu Nanang, 60, hoping she would be allowed to play in a small rowboat tied up to their stilt house.

Although many of her toddler friends were playing on their boats that afternoon, her grandmother said no, and Siti's face fell.

The floodwaters could rise during high tide on the river in the morning and afternoon, and it would be dangerous for her, Nyai told The Jakarta Post.

Nyai and the 200 other families of Pandan Island area in Legok subdistrict, Telanaipura district, about one kilometer from the Batanghari River, all own rowboats.

Each boat, measuring five meters by 75 centimeters, is secured with a padlock to prevent theft, because at a price of up to Rp 300,000 (US$35), they are a family asset.

The boats are usually stored on the crossbeams under the houses.

The floods usually come during these two months, and can rise to a point 75 cm high on the two-meter stilts. In some places, flood levels may even reach a meter high.

"We can only use our rowboats during the rainy season, when we would be confined to our houses without a boat," said Nyai.

During the floods, motorcycles and bicycles cannot be parked by the front steps, so they are parked at the homes of relatives not affected by the floods, or at private parking lots for Rp 3,000 a night.

Boat taxis, which spring up during the floods, charge Rp 1,000 to ferry people home from the parking lots, and children take them to go to and from school. Many residents switch to providing the service when the rains come, working from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and earning up to Rp 30,000 daily.

Boats are also needed to go shopping for groceries at Angsoduo Market, which cannot be reached on foot when the river swells. It takes 15 minutes to reach the market by boat. During the dry season, vegetable vendors usually make their rounds in the village with their carts.

Most importantly, the boats are used to fetch water from the river for cooking and drinking. As for bathing, laundering and washing dishes, villagers make do with the water underneath their houses.

Usman, 40, said only water from the Batanghari River could be used for consumption. Other water sources in the area are not potable because they are contaminated with garbage, and have a dark color and smell bad.

"Getting clean water is difficult here. Not all of us can afford water from the water company," he said.