Flooding going from bad to worse in Semarang
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.