Cipulir Market Traders Always Anxious During Heavy Rain as Floods Frequently Submerge Goods
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Traders admit to always feeling anxious during heavy rain because Cipulir Market in South Jakarta always floods.
The traders worry that their goods will be damaged and submerged in muddy floodwater.
Syaiful (36), one of the shirt traders, said he has previously suffered major losses due to being late in saving his merchandise during a flood.
“At that time, the flood hit at 02.00 WIB, when we were all sleeping at home. The water rose quickly; in just an hour, it was full, so nothing was saved. At that point, it hadn’t been lifted onto the stairs,” said Syaiful when met by Kompas.com at the location on Saturday.
“I didn’t have time to secure it, so the day before, about two to three dozen were submerged. Alhamdulillah, they could still be salvaged by laundering. But of course, the costs multiplied because laundering requires fees. It was all gone, a total loss,” he added.
Syaiful cited the fate that befell his neighbour’s shop during the flood at the beginning of 2026.
Due to being late in evacuating goods to higher places, the neighbour had to let almost all of their stock be submerged in water.
“The shop next door lost all its goods to the flood last time, about 50 dozen. Imagine, good quality items like gamises sold for Rp 100,000 per piece. Wholesale per dozen is Rp 750,000; just calculate the losses—tens of millions if they weren’t saved,” he said.
The same anxiety is felt by Miran (39), a trader who has been selling at Cipulir Market for 10 years.
The flood on Saturday afternoon reached a height of 50 centimetres.
“I had already gone home, but we deliberately came back to clean the mud. If it dries, it’s hard to clean. And also for the goods, afraid they’ll be damaged by the water. We’re confused too because the water isn’t receding,” said Miran.
Miran explained that various anticipatory measures have actually been taken by the market managers and traders.
From raising the floor by 30 to 40 centimetres, to making higher display tables layered with waterproof cement.