Most of Cipinang, Bekasi swamped

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite very little rain over the weekend in Jakarta, the swollen Krukut and Sunter rivers burst their banks and flooded thousands of houses in the Cipinang area of East Jakarta, to a level of two meters in some neighborhoods, forcing the residents to flee their homes.

The most affected areas were in Cipinang Indah I and II housing complexes, community unit RW 3 in Pondok Bambu subdistrict and community unit RP 14 in Cipinang Muara subdistrict.

Two people also were reported drowned in the swollen Cipinang river on Sunday afternoon.

The first victim was identified as Sobirin, 25, a resident of Cipinang Melayu subdistrict, who apparently slipped into the swift-moving river and was found dead downstream.

Meanwhile, 12-year-old boy, Sonny, from Cipinang Besar Utara subdistrict, had not yet been found, but locals said they saw the boy in the water and strongly suspected that he had drowned.

Officers from Jatinegara police, East Jakarta, and a rescue team were still searching for the boy.

Meanwhile, at the Cipinang Indah I housing complex, Andi, a resident, said there was only a light rain on Saturday evening.

"But starting at 4 a.m., the floodwaters began to inundated our houses and reached up to a range of between 60 centimeters to over a meter high by 1 p.m. The water has not subsided," he said on Sunday evening.

A resident of Pondok Bambu subdistrict, Ikhrom, said that the houses located near the right bank of the Sunter were swamped by water reaching a level of two meters in some areas.

The East Jakarta fire department lent the Pondok Bambu residents two rubber dinghies to evacuate.

A staff member at the city's flood mitigation crisis center gave very little information on whether plans were in the works to help the flood victims, saying only that, "the officials are now in discussions."

He speculated that the rising water level was due to heavy rain up river in Puncak and Bogor on Saturday.

In 1967, Cipinang was designated by the then governor Ali Sadikin for a reservoir as part of the East Flood Canal, as it lies in on very low land. However, the next governor Tjokropranolo inexplicably sold the area to developers who converted it into a densely populated housing area.

In Bekasi, east of Jakarta, the worst flooding was reported in Nasio housing complex in South Bekasi where water reached up to two meters.