Floods still frequently bother many Jakartans

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For most of Jakartans the misery of the floods has ended. But there are still many residents haunted by the natural disaster although on a scale less dangerous than the floods in late January and early February.

People living in Cipinang Besar Selatan subdistrict, East Jakarta, still experience flooding. The rainy season has not yet ended. Each time it rains in the city, their houses and nearby roads are flooded.

"The floods occur here twice a week although not as severe as the one two months ago," said Lalan, 35, one of the residents in the subdistrict.

The latest flood in Cipinang Besar Selatan occurred on Tuesday. It not only affects the people living along the riverbanks of Cipinang river, but also others living farther from the river, such as the area near the Cipinang penitentiary.

Although the floodwaters were not so high, it still bothered residents. Whenever it rains, they have to move their furniture and other belongings to safer places like on a second floor or on the roof.

"We are lucky if we still have a chance to save our belongings. We often experience that the water has entered our houses while we are still sleeping soundly. Once, I woke up in the night to find our black and white TV waterlogged," said Lalan, whose husband is a construction worker.

The floods have also affected their health. Diseases like skin infections, diarrhea, and respiratory infections are common.

Fortunately, added Tuti, 30, who also lives in the subdistrict, free medical treatment was still provided by a number of non-governmental organizations, including private radio and television stations, which handed out the donations from their listeners and viewers.

"Thank God we still receive aid from various organizations. Recently I received school uniform, school bag, books and pencils for my son," said Lalan while showing a school bag with several books and pencils in it.

As the local administration has not done enough to help the flood victims, various organizations are still collecting funds for flood victims in the city.

The Christian Children's Fund (CCF) Indonesia, for example, provided free medical treatment for residents in Pulo Gadung subdistrict on Wednesday. The organization also distributed staple foods and food supplements for children in the subdistrict.

Unfortunately, not all flood victims have received assistance. Residents of Klender subdistrict, and Duren Sawit subdistrict, in East Jakarta, whose houses were still inundated up to two weeks ago no longer receive any assistance.

"We received aid when our houses were inundated up to the roof in February," said Kastubi, 61, pointing to part of his damaged house located on the riverbank of Sunter river.

"I heard that there was assistance being provided for repairing houses, but I never received it," said Kastubi, who is a member of the local community security guards (Linmas) in the subdistrict.

Eko Widodo, who is also a resident of Klender subdistrict, said that this year the area had flooded more than 10 times.

He added that this had never happened in previous years. He, however, suspected that the floods were engineered by the authorities so that the people would want to leave the areas.

He said that the city administration intentionally closed the floodgate in Pulogadung that controls the water flow of Sunter river, resulting in flooding in the area.

"They want to expel people living along the riverbanks as the areas could be made into green areas," he said.

But many of them have no choice other than to stay, as they have no money to seek new houses in other safer areas.

"Poverty has forced us to stay, although we'll always be threatened by the floods. We can only move if the government helps us," said Tuti.