Learning to live with floods

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Kapuk Muara subdistrict in North Jakarta is routinely flooded at least three times a year due to the high tides and heavy rains. But because residents cannot afford to buy houses in other flood-free areas, they have no choice but to deal with the problem as best they can.

"Our neighborhood lies in a flood-prone area since it is located near the sea and between the Cengkareng drain, and the Muara Angke river," a resident named Sudirman told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Flooding, which usually comes during the height of sea tide, can reach one meter. Most of the time, the flood waters from the sea tide occur over four days or more.

Most residents have learned to adapt, and managed to find ways of dealing with the flooding.

In front of some houses, piles of sand-filled sacks can be found. "The residents here deploy the bags to prevent water from entering their houses," a resident said.

Some residents have built attics in their homes. When the flood waters come, they store valuables there, often electronics.

"They have been very useful. We continue to put our valuables and food supplies in the attic," Sudirman said.

The recent floods have hit the area more intensely than usual for most of the past month.

Some residents were forced to move to higher ground for two weeks, starting Jan. 28, as the water reached well over one meter high.

They have returned to their houses, but still must wade through the dirty, foul-smelling water.

"We have to go back to our normal activity, so we don't mind the water," said a neighbor, Sukma, who returned to her house, which had been submerged beneath 30 centimeters of water.

Most of the furniture in Sukma's house, as in many others, are made of plastic. There now sits a set of plastic sofas in her living room, and a wooden cabinet. The cabinet legs have been resourcefully covered with aluminum foil to prevent damage from flood.

Overall, for this reason, residents tend to prefer plastic- made furniture because of its immunity from the flood.

"Plastic furniture is not actually what we like, but we have to be realistic -- it's easy to clean, and the flood can't destroy it," Sukma said, noting that she has never put a carpet on her shopping list.

The flooding has brought with it another, less-widely noted but equally common problem: skin diseases. However, most residents choose to ignore it.

"If you are a newcomer, you will suffer skin diseases but after a year or two, it's no longer a problem," said Tagor, a local kiosk owner, who sells an anti-fungus cream.