People return home to mud and filth

People return home to mud and filth

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Rain early Thursday has made the mud and piling garbage
alongside roads stickier and stinkier. With trousers rolled up
high and tattered T-shirts, many Jakartans began another day of
struggle to clean up the mess in their houses.

Amid their painstaking efforts to reclaim their houses, the
exhausted-faces showed signs of fear at the prospect of further
flooding.

Adi, the neighborhood chief in Bukit Duri subdistrict in South
Jakarta, said many residents were still reluctant to clean their
houses and fix the damage.

"They're still worried that another flood will come in the
near future," he said, adding the fears were based on weather
forecasts predicting the torrential rains would continue until
mid February.

"I'm very tired from washing so many clothes that plunged into
muddy floodwater. Many have to be thrown away as they're totally
damaged by the water," he said, pointing to dozens of wet clothes
drying in front of his house.

Four spring beds coated with dirt and mud were seen standing
wet while damaged chairs and tables were also drying in the front
of the garage.

Adi said the furniture was repolished just a week before the
flood and had cost him Rp 800,000 (US$78).

"Right now our top priority is washing and cleaning cooking
utensils. They're the most important goods," he said.

His neighbor, Gunawan, said he had canceled his plan to bring
down all his belongings from the second story of his home because
of the predictions.

"I'm still afraid another flood will occur and destroy my
belongings if I bring them down."

He said he was prioritizing cleaning the thick mud and rubbish
from his home.

During last week's floods, Adi lost three tape recorders, two
refrigerators and four electric fans. Gunawan lost his three
personal computers.

Predictions of another flood also haunted most shop owners,
who began to resume operations on Thursday.

Rumors relating to Cyclone Chris were spread via cellphone SMS
(short message service).

Still suffering shock from the massive losses inflicted by the
floods, Yurni, the owner of Barokah shops at Cipulir textile and
garment market in South Jakarta, preferred not to open her shop
as normal.

"We're just displaying some models for customers in the first-
story shop while all goods are securely stored in another shop
located a few hundred meters away from here," she said, groaning
that such efforts had made her exhausted.

"It's the only possible way to minimize greater losses."

Yurni claimed she had lost 600 clothes items in the floods.

"Some can still be washed and sold in much lower prices but
most of them must be dumped."

Water reached about 80-centimeters at the second biggest
textile market after Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta.

Syamsudin, who runs a carpet shop in Jatinegara market, East
Jakarta, echoed similar concerns.

"Most merchandise is still stored upstairs pending the
progress of the situation," he said. Some of his carpets were
damaged during the flood which reached 1.5 meters.

Most shops at the market remained closed Thursday with piling
garbage alongside the road hampering motorists efforts to pass.

Oky, who runs an electric implement shop, opened his shop amid
sluggish business as he needed money.

"If we continue to close our shop, how could we earn money to
repay our debts to the bank," he said.

Oky was among those who managed to save goods in his two-story
shop/house.