Jakartans clean up as sporadic rain continues

Jakartans clean up as sporadic rain continues

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Two days of sunshine on Saturday and Sunday gave a glimmer of
hope for Jakartans that water in their flooded houses might
recede. Unfortunately, another heavy rain that might fall at any
time in the near future could wash away such hopes.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has warned people of the
possibility of more rain in the days ahead and for the rest of
this month.

Some parts of the city, which had been paralyzed for a week,
were dry Sunday afternoon. Due to other factors such as high
tides, however, other parts of the city saw water levels increase
by nearly 40 centimeters.

Residents of Cililitan, East Jakarta and Kalibata, South
Jakarta, had to clean up thick mud in their houses and bring back
their belongings from temporary shelters. Similar activities
occurred in Manggarai, South Jakarta.

Main thoroughfares such as Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin,
Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan and Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur, were clear
of water in the afternoon.

Many upmarket houses in Kelapa Gading and Sunter in North
Jakarta, Pulo Mas in East Jakarta, Grogol in West Jakarta, and
Cempaka Putih in Central Jakarta, were still under deep water, up
to 1.5 meters high.

Some residents have been staying in alternative accommodation
for the past few days.

Endri Darso Putra, who had stayed in his car parked at the
nearby Sunter flyover for the past two days, blamed the
administration for the one-meter water inside his house in Kelapa
Gading, North Jakarta.

"They should have considered the environmental impact before
allowing developers build additional houses and buildings at
water containment areas," he grumbled.

At the Sunter Hulu and Pulo Gadung floodgates, the water
remained high, with 6.6 meters at Pulo Gadung, 0.65m at Sunter
Hulu and 4.95 meters at the Karet flood gates.

Residents in Sunter and Kelapa Gading said the water level in
their houses had increased instead of decreasing like other
areas.

"The water was only knee-deep Friday but today (Sunday) it is
about one meter," said Lobo, a resident of Teluk Ratai in Sunter.

His wife and children moved to a relative's house in Depok on
Saturday as Lobo gave up hope of staying in his house.

Another resident grumbled as her family had to live without
electricity amid waist-high water.

"My house was inundated with stinking water in pitch
blackness. Water was moving rapidly and rising very fast. In just
an hour, the water reached my shoulder. There was no electricity
due to the risk of electrocution," said Gita, who lives in
Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

"The phones were also dead. Nobody could get in or out as the
houses in our area were drowning. It's the first time in my life,
since we moved here 14 years ago, that we had to experience
this."

Although electricity was restored in some areas by Sunday
afternoon, the state-owned electricity company PT PLN announced
that 1,474 power generators were still shut down in Gambir,
Kramat Jati, Kebayoran and Tangerang.

The inundation at state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina's
Plumpang depot in North Jakarta has also disrupted fuel supply to
gas stations across the city.

Water also forced 127 patients at the Grogol Mental Hospital
to be evacuated along with three drug addicts to the Bogor Mental
Hospital.

The discovery of the body of an eight-month-old infant in the
Prumpung Sawah area increased the death toll to at least 28 with
at least five still missing.

At around 3 p.m., President Megawati Soekarnoputri cruised
around in a rubber dinghy to wave to flood victims in the Sumur
Bor area of Cengkareng, where water levels reached 1.6 meters.

She was accompanied by Armed Forces Chief Gen. Widodo,
Minister of Trade and Industry Rini Soewandi and her daughter
Puan Maharani.

Earlier at the official residence on Jl. Teuku Umar, Megawati
accompanied by State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana
Sukardi, ceremonially handed over 35 rubber dinghies, 35 fiber
glass dinghies, 12 rafts, 30 life vests and 12 oars to help
evacuate victims. The boats were all donations from state
enterprises.