Flooding in upscale housing estate in West Jakarta, Sudin SDA responds
Jakarta - The West Jakarta Water Resources Sub-Office (Sudin SDA) stated that the muddy flood in the Pulau Tondan area of Taman Permata Buana residential estate, Kembangan, West Jakarta, was caused by the water level (TMA) of Kali Angke reaching 400 centimetres from the measurement reference point.
According to the head of the West Jakarta Sudin SDA, Purwanti Suryandari, this water level was the highest recorded in the West Jakarta area.
“Yesterday, Sunday (8 March), the Kali Angke water level was extremely high, reaching 400. That was the highest. Inevitably, it overflowed,” said Purwanti when confirmed in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The overflow of Kali Angke caused flooding to inundate the upscale Taman Permata Buana residential estate. However, due to dyke construction in the residential area, excavated mud also spilled onto local residential roads along with the floodwater.
“Currently, sheetpile construction is still underway to contain the Kali Angke,” said Purwanti regarding the dyke project.
She stated that flood management at the location cannot be carried out whilst the river level exceeds the dyke’s crest.
“Once it overflows, we must wait for the river to recede slightly before we can operate the pumps. That is what happened yesterday,” explained Purwanti.
She clarified that the construction of sheetpiles over more than 1,000 metres along the Kali Angke is a multi-year project running from 2025 to 2027, with the hope that the dyke will help prevent flooding in the surrounding area.
An ANTARA observation at the location at 16:30 WIB showed several people cleaning mud in the upscale residential area. Several water tanker trucks were deployed to clear mud from the roads.
Along the riverbank, mud formed a marshlike area outside the newly installed sheetpile barrier.
The incomplete dyke was too short when the river water volume increased during rainfall that began on Saturday (7 March) evening.
Security officer Supriadi stated that when the incident occurred, the river water level exceeded the newly embedded dyke, causing water and mud to overflow onto residential roads.
He noted that before the dyke construction project, the residential estate had never experienced flooding.
“The flooding occurred Sunday night. The river water level was so high that it exceeded the dyke and entered the residential area,” said Supriadi when met at the location on Monday (9 March) afternoon.
“If it had collapsed, the sheetpile would have given way, but it did not. The water was simply too high and exceeded the dyke. Moreover, the dyke is still under construction,” Supriadi explained.
He stated that the flooding affected two neighbourhoods (RW), namely RW 11 and RW 9 in Taman Permata Buana.
The water level at that time was estimated to have reached approximately 50 to 60 centimetres.
Nevertheless, he confirmed that water did not enter residents’ homes.
“The water only reached the front yards or gardens of homes, it did not enter the houses,” Supriadi clarified.