Lessons from the deluge

After days of some of the worst flooding in recent memory, the worst seems to be over -- for now -- for Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta.

But just as the water recedes and exposes masses of trash and filth covering damaged roads and yards, so too comes into view the failings of those who must be held first and foremost responsible for the disaster.

Indeed, the complete inability of those in power to act with foresight, competence, and decisiveness in the face of this epic calamity has been truly breathtaking.

First off, it must be noted that the heavy rainfall of the past few days did not come by surprise.

In fact, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency warned Jakarta's people weeks in advance that the heaviest rains would be falling from around the end of January until the middle of this month.

This warning was quickly forgotten. That might have been forgiven, though not justified, had the city administration already taken the necessary precautions to prevent the type of disaster Jakartans experienced during the past week.

Emergency steps, too, were obviously ignored.

No evidence was seen of riverbeds and canals being dredged to clear them of the sludge and rubbish that has been deposited there over the years and make them deeper.

And although much has been said about cleaning up Jakarta's shanties, building along riverbeds continues, making the rivers narrower and aggravating the danger of flooding by the buildup of trash.

Existing reservoirs, built during the 1970s for the purpose of containing floods stand neglected, and by no means expanded in number.

Not much has been heard about the so-called kopro-banjir -- agencies set up under the governorship of Ali Sadikin for the express purpose of managing floods.

On a higher level, it is welcome news that the Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure, Soenarno, has ordered the developer of Pantai Indah Kapuk to cease construction until an evaluation can be made of the environmental impact analysis related to its activities.

Furthermore, stock will be taken of the environmental viability of other development projects scattered across the city.

At present, it must be said that authorities seem to be doing all that is in their limited power to help the hundreds of thousands of flood victims overcome the disaster.

Unfortunately all that is now, as the saying goes, water under the bridge.

In the meantime, to mention just a few statistics, some 380,000 refugees of the floods are waiting desperately for government help.

More than 30 people have lost their lives in Jakarta, with other deaths elsewhere. Some 70 percent of Jakarta's roads are reportedly damaged. Diarrhea is affecting some 18,000 people.

One encouraging fact is that, through all this, the first initiatives to help ease the suffering of those affected came from the community itself -- whether from students or workers, professionals or women and neighborhood associations or members of non-governmental organizations.

It seems that in this disaster, it is the people who have come together in a time of dire need and, in doing so, set an example which government officials -- in this instance and others -- would do well to follow.