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.