City says flood task force enough for holiday

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With the number of Idul Fitri travelers reaching its peak this weekend, the City Administration ensured residents that it would have enough flood watchmen available during the civil servants' official nine-day holiday.

Syarafuddin Arsyad, head of the alertness department at the City Public Order Agency, told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the city crisis center would be open 24 hours a day including holidays.

"Three watchmen are assigned to every shift. Their task is to receive reports from the public at phone number 382-2011 and communicate the problems to subdistrict heads," he said.

Arsyad said that subdistrict heads, who were responsible for flood prevention in most areas, would not be allowed to leave the capital during holidays without approval from their respective mayors.

"If a subdistrict head has to leave the city, his deputy must be in charge for monitoring," he said.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has forecast that heavy rains would fall this week and next week. Downpours in the last several days have inundated many parts of the city.

To support the work of subdistrict heads in 180 flood-prone subdistricts, each of them have been equipped with a cellular phone and two-way radio, said Soebagio, secretary of the city's Coordinating Task Force for Flood Anticipation and Refugees, to the Post.

"If the floods do not recede within three hours, we must escalate our alertness. If the water does not recede after six hours, the subdistrict officers must set up refugee camps at designated places," he said.

Soebagio, who is also head of the City Public Order Agency, was optimistic that the administration would be able to handle any problems that might occur if floods hit the capital this year or early next year.

The administration was widely criticized for its slow response when severe flooding hit the capital early last year. At least 31 people were killed while thousands of others were forced out of their homes during the floods that paralyzed the capital for about two weeks.

"We don't want to repeat the same mistake. We're much more prepared this time," he claimed.

As for the unfinished crisis center at the City Hall, Soebagio argued that it did not necessarily reflect the administration's lack of preparation.

"The crisis center will be integrated so it can handle all kinds of crises in the city. It will be completed in one or two years," he said. "For flooding in particular, we have gotten more prepared."

Soebagio said that the administration would issue a guide book containing complete information on preparation for floods and how to minimize negative impacts.

The city has 113 rubber dinghies and the number can increase if the National Police and the Indonesian Military help by deploying its 19 and 105 dinghies respectively whenever the city needs them.

The city also has designated places for 242 public kitchens and refugee camps near flood-prone areas for those who have to leave their homes.

Around 40,000 people from the administration, police and different organizations will supposedly be cooperating on the task force. They have staged rehearsals in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.