Lessons from the deluge

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.