City poorly prepared to tackle flood problem

City poorly prepared to tackle flood problem

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A non-governmental organization criticized on Tuesday the city
administration's apparent lack of preparation to help flood
victims in anticipation of heavy rains this monsoon season.

"During two days of flooding last week, no official from the
administration warned residents of the danger of floods," Debbie
Prabawati of the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) told The Jakarta
Post.

Besides the absence of an official warning, Debbie said
residents did not receive enough help, such as rafts to evacuate
them from their flooded homes and adequate food supplies.

She revealed that the public received incorrect information
from officials, who announced that there would be a massive flood
last Saturday.

"On that day (Saturday), many residents opted to stay home
because of the (false) information, but there was no such flood
on Saturday," Debbie said.

Members of Fakta include hundreds of residents living in 20
flood-prone areas in the city.

Representatives of concerned residents held a meeting on
Tuesday to discuss anticipatory measures to be taken in case of
floods in the near future and the administration's lack of
preparation.

Last year, the residents, accompanied by Fakta and several
other non-governmental organizations, filed a class action
lawsuit against the President, the West Java governor and the
Jakarta governor for their alleged lack of action to help
residents during the massive floods in February 2002.

But the Central Jakarta District Court rejected the lawsuit in
November last year, saying that the residents should sue the
mayors and not the three defendants, since they had no direct
legal obligation in the matter.

Debbie revealed on Tuesday that the residents had appealed the
court's decision with the Jakarta High Court.

"We will add the current condition (of the city's lack of
preparation) in our appeal," she said.

Following last week's flooding, City Secretary Ritola Tasmaya,
who is also chief of the city flood disaster support agency, said
last Wednesday that the administration had prepared 301 shelters
in the city's five municipalities to house the displaced in the
event of flood.

Ritola said the administration would also provide 176 communal
kitchens, 163 trucks, 68 ambulances and four helicopters to help
flood victims.

During last Wednesday's meeting with Ritola and the city's
five mayors, Governor Sutiyoso admitted that his officials had
failed to warn the public.

"I regret that information about flooding on Monday and
Tuesday did not reach residents," Sutiyoso said at the meeting.

Separately, city spokesman Muhayat said on Tuesday that
equipment to help flood victims, including rafts, had been placed
at subdistrict offices in flood-prone areas.

"We have distributed equipment to areas frequently hit by
flood," Muhayat told the Post.

He said the administration had yet to allocate special funds
to help people displaced by flood, adding that the funds would be
provided by city agencies.

Last year's massive floods inundated 176 subdistricts, claimed
34 lives and displaced 384,294 people.

Excluding helicopters, the administration also provided a
similar number of trucks, ambulances, rafts, communal kitchens
and shelters last year.