Flooding going from bad to worse in Semarang

By Haryoso

SEMARANG (JP): Parti, 43, breaks down every time she remembers how her merchandise worth Rp 10 million went missing when a flood swept through Mangkang Market on Jan. 28.

"Why do natural disasters nearly always hit poor people like me the hardest?" said Parti. His husband, Laksono, 50, tried to console her.

Floods drenched the coastal city during the current rainy season, causing widespread damage to property. On Jan. 28, the water level at Mangkang Market reached 150 centimeters. About 100 traders lost their merchandise or sustained severe damage on that day alone.

Although no fatalities were reported, floods remain a dreaded perennial visitor to the city. In some areas, currents were so strong they pushed large objects like trapped buses a hundred meters.

In West Semarang, floods have destroyed 55 houses. Over the weekend, 2,000 houses in eight subdistricts throughout Semarang were inundated.

In 1990, major floods claimed the lives of 68 people in Semarang and inundated thousands of homes along Garang River after a dam burst.

For many townspeople, floods are a nightmare. The disaster affects not only residential areas but also cripples services at public facilities like hospitals, Ahmad Yani Airport, Terboyo Bus Station and Tawang Railway Station.

"Heavy rain always causes floods," said Haryanto, 40, a resident of Wonosari area, one of the worst affected areas.

Environmentalists have attributed the floods to environmental degradation in Semarang and the surrounding areas.

"The natural catastrophe has been worsened by environmentally unfriendly activities," said Soedarto, chief of the Diponegoro University's Center for Environmental Studies.

He said floodwaters in Semarang came from two sources -- rivers from the upstream and the overflow from the sea.

"The northern coast has gone down so low that they are inundated even in the dry season," he said. "The flooding is worsening in the wet season by rivers emptying into the sea in and around Semarang waters."

According to Soedarto, development projects have altered or destroyed natural water courses and water catchment areas. City planning has not adequately taken the environment into consideration.

Soedarto recommended that the mayor halt industrial and housing development in northern Semarang and in hilly areas in the south because the projects upset the ecological balance.

"There should be no more reclamation of brackish fishponds for development projects," he said. "Development of housing complexes in hilly areas should be immediately stopped.

He proposed that the government prioritize the construction of a reservoir in Kreo area in the south to hold and regulate water that enters the city. "Floods in Semarang should be seen as an environmental disaster."

Groundwater level

Roeswan Soediro, a lecturer at Diponegoro University, said the most serious flooding occurred in northern Semarang where the groundwater level was already "very high" and therefore only a small portion of the floodwater could be absorbed.

"The flooding is an accumulation of water from the sea and from the rain," he said. The problem is worsened by the reclamation projects which upset the natural flow of the water.

Environmental activist John Wirawan said that this year's flooding in Semarang reached an alarming level and needed an immediate remedy, otherwise it would pose health and social problems.

Major flooding follows a 10-year cycle and experts say the problem worsens each year. For example, 10 years ago, flooding occurred only along the Kanal Barat River but this year, it affected all rivers.

They said that more land levels in the area were receding, and the ground level was lower than the sea level, possibly due to unchecked groundwater exploitation.

Wirawan noted that floodwaters in the worst-affected places in Semarang reached 100 centimeters, compared to only some 40 centimeters several years ago.

"This is a worrying sign," he said.