Mitigation Dike Deemed Not Optimally Preventing Tidal Flooding as Residents Urge NCICD Project to Be Accelerated

JAKARTA — The mitigation dike built by the Jakarta Provincial Government is considered not yet optimal in protecting the RW 22 area of Muara Angke, North Jakarta, comprehensively. Spanning 1.1 kilometres through the middle of residents’ housing, the mitigation dike is said to cause two RTs in RW 22 to experience tidal flooding more severely and to be slower to recede. This is because RT 06 and RT 07, which are an area of stilt and floating houses, lie exactly at the riverbank or estuary and are lower than the constructed dike. As a result, when sea water surges inland it cannot flow to other areas, because it is held back by the mitigation dike, so tidal flooding lingers only in those two RTs. ‘Yes, so that NCICD dike construction should be carried out soon; once built it will certainly be safer,’ said RT 06 head Warya when contacted on Thursday, 21 May 2026. The flooded area still covers around 230 stilt and floating homes, all inhabited. Although residents remain safe because their houses are on stilts, activities are still hampered when tidal flooding arrives. Another RW 22 resident, Carwiti (49), also hopes the NCICD construction can be accelerated. ‘My hope is that a dike is built here soon so we feel comfortable. Over there the mitigation dike is already good; if a dike were here too, it would be nice, so we would not experience floods,’ she said at the site on Thursday. Since the mitigation dike was constructed, flooding at Carwiti’s house takes longer to recede and sometimes requires a whole day. Before the dike, tidal flooding at her house would recede in a matter of hours, as the water could disperse to other RT areas. Nevertheless, she still regards the mitigation dike as bringing many benefits, even if it is not yet optimal in protecting residents’ homes from tidal flooding. The construction of the mitigation dike, she added, could also cause road damage in Muara Angke, which has existed for decades, but the roads are now smoother. Accordingly, Carwiti said residents only need to wade through floods up to the front of the alley when going about activities such as going to school.