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.