Heavy flooding hits parts of Jakarta and Tangerang

JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of houses in several areas in Jakarta and Tangerang were inundated yesterday with floodwaters reaching between 30 centimeters and two meters.

The floods were believed to be caused by overflows from the Ciliwung River in Jakarta and Cisadane River in Tangerang following heavy rain which lasted several hours in the upper courses in Bogor Monday night.

The worst hit areas were Pasar Minggu, Pancoran and Tebet districts in South Jakarta where floodwaters reached 150 centimeters to two meters. At least 1,777 houses were affected in the three districts.

"The floods came from Bogor. There was no rain in the affected areas last night," Sunardi, an officer of South Jakarta's Flood Control Agency told The Jakarta Post.

He said floodwaters started to recede yesterday evening.

South Jakarta's Social Welfare Office has donated rice, instant noodles and mats to the flood victims, he said.

Hundreds of other houses in Kampung Melayu, Bidara Cina and Cawang districts were also inundated with the water level reaching about 150 centimeters, an official of East Jakarta's Flood Control Agency said.

In Tangerang mayoralty and regency at least 2,854 houses were inundated with floodwaters reaching up to two meters.

The three-hour downpour in the upper course of Cisadane River in Bogor was believed to be the cause of the flooding.

Tangerang Mayor Djakaria Mahmud said, after donating 2,000 packages of staple food to the flood victims in Karang Sari and Karang Anyar subdistricts, that the city administration would soon send water and other food commodities to the affected areas.

He said the houses were flooded mainly because they were built without considering rising water levels and there was a poor drainage system in the housing complexes.

Jatiuwung was one of the worst-hit districts, with several neighborhood communities affected. Thousands of families in Panunggangan Barat and Periuk Jaya subdistricts were forced to temporarily take shelter in nearby safe areas.

Head of the Tangerang office of the Ministry of Public Works Admat Kosim said that information about the flood was received at 11 p.m. Monday.

All nine flood gates at the Bendungan Door-10 dam were already wide open but the water flow reached 1,250 cubic meters per second, up substantially from the normal capacity of only 50 cubic meters per second, Admat said.

And the water level at the dam had reached 11 meters, slightly below the critical level of 12 meters, he said.

"If the water flow reaches this level, we can do nothing because it means many parts of the city have been inundated."

Admat strongly denied allegations that the flooding was caused by the slow reaction on the part of the floodgate attendants.

"They had all been ready at the site as soon as they heard about the coming floods," he said.

The floods also affected Pondok Arum housing complex in Tangerang district and Kampung Bidong residential area in Karawaci subdistrict.

About 300 families in Tanjung Burung village, Teluk Naga, Tangerang regency and some 30 families in Pakulonan Barat were affected by the floods.

Other affected areas included Purati and Total Persada housing complexes in Jatiuwung and housing complexes in Alam Jaya, Periuk, Periuk Jaya and Kunciran subdistricts.

The flood reportedly submerged the deck of Karawaci Unis Bridge. (jun/41)