Cipulir Market Traders Claim to Have Flooded Seven Times: They Immediately Raise Goods Every Time It Rains
JAKARTA - Traders claim that their stalls have been inundated by floods seven times at Cipulir Market in South Jakarta throughout 2025.
“I have been selling here for one year. If counted, it has flooded six or seven times,” said Syaiful (36), one of the shirt traders, when met by Kompas.com at the location on Saturday night (2/5/2026).
The traders must race against time to save their goods every time heavy rain falls.
“If you’re late, the water rises quickly; in just one hour, it’s already full. So, basically, as soon as it starts raining, we lift (the goods) using sacks up the stairs,” he said.
Syaiful believes that the slow handling of infrastructure around Cipulir Market is the root cause of the flooding problem.
“Especially since there has been excavation right in front here for the pump house. That has been going on for a long time, years, and it’s not finished,” Syaiful revealed.
This condition causes the water level to rise very quickly into the ground floor area of the market where he trades.
If they are late in anticipating it, the traders are certain to suffer substantial material losses.
For example, during the flood at the beginning of Ramadan 2026, when the water pooling entered the market at 02.00 WIB in the early hours, the traders had already gone home.
“We didn’t have time to secure it, so the day before, about two to three dozen were inundated. Alhamdulillah, they could still be saved by laundering. But yes, the costs multiply because laundering requires fees. It’s gone, a loss,” said Syaiful.
“The shop next door even had all its goods completely flooded, about 50 dozen. Imagine, good items like gamises sold for Rp 100,000 per piece. Wholesale per dozen is Rp 750,000; calculate the loss, it’s a lot, probably tens of millions if not saved,” he explained.
Similar concerns are felt by Miran (39), a trader who has been selling at Cipulir Market for more than 10 years.
The flood that occurred this Saturday afternoon forced him to turn back from his home in Jembatan Lima, West Jakarta, and return to the market at night to drain the mud residue from the flood.