Residents brave floods to protect belongings
Residents brave floods to protect belongings
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Floodwaters have been rising in a number of residential areas
across the city since Thursday morning, but many residents have
chosen not to leave their houses belongings due to fears that
their belongings might be stolen.
Many Jakartans insisted on staying and guarding their houses,
although in some areas the flooding, which was blamed on heavy
rains and a high tide, had reached 100 centimeters above street
level in some areas.
"We will not leave our houses because we are afraid that our
belongings will be stolen," Yanto, a resident of Kapuk Muara
subdistrict in North Jakarta said.
The residents' vigilance was understandable as only a few
police officers were seen around the areas during the floods on
Thursday.
City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo vowed that the police
would deploy some personnel to safeguard homes abandoned by the
residents seeking refuge away from the floods.
"We will also deploy our police personnel to monitor crime-
infested areas to prevent crimes, like extortion and robbery
targeting motorists trapped in traffic due to the flooding," said
Prasetyo.
Stern measures could be taken by police on such perpetrators
who take advantage of people during a natural disaster, Prasetyo
said.
River floodgates, Prasetyo said, would also come under police
protection during the floods.
The floodwaters on Thursday also engulfed Kampung Melayu and
Bidara Cina subdistricts in Jatinegara, East Jakarta, the
subdistricts of Serdang in Central Jakarta, Rawa Buaya and Kelapa
Dua in West Jakarta and Cipete Utara, Petogogan and Rawa Barat in
South Jakarta.
Part of Prof. Sedyatmo toll road linking the city with
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was also inundated by the
floodwaters but no flight delays were reported. Traffic to the
airport moved slowly due to the flooding.
Last year, several flights were canceled as massive floods hit
the city in early February, including the airport toll road. The
2002 flood caused billions in losses, claimed 34 lives and
displaced 384,294 people.
The floods, which have been a regular phenomenon in recent
years here, angered some of the residents in Kapuk Muara.
Several residents directed their anger at City Governor
Sutiyoso and his entourage, who decided to cruise the area in a
boat.
"Mr. Governor, we'd rather you not visit us every year, and
instead permanently rectify this problem," one of the residents
shouted as he passed.
The residents and environmentalists deplored the city
administration for allowing a developer to destroy a nearby
mangrove forest for the development of the luxury housing complex
Pantai Indah Kapuk in North Jakarta, which they blamed for the
floods in the area.
Responding to the residents' complaints, a red-faced Sutiyoso
yelled back, "Yes, yes, we will, we will (fix the problems) ...,"
but stopped short of offering any solutions.
The governor said heavy rains since early Thursday morning and
the high tide on Wednesday night which reached 150 centimeters,
had caused the floods.
Jakartans have been warned about possible floods, which were
predicted to take place between Feb. 5 and Feb. 25.
The upcoming full moon -- and resulting high tide -- on Friday
could bring another round of flooding, if it is accompanied by
heavy rain.
Thursday's flooding also caused heavy traffic jams on the
city's streets and delays in train departures and arrivals.
Thousands of people, including city councillors, arrived late to
work.
Spokesman for the Greater Jakarta division of the state-owned
railway operator PT Kereta Api, Zainal Abidin, revealed that the
delays occurred at Kampung Bandan station in North Jakarta which
was inundated by water about 10 centimeters above the tracks,
while the permitted height is less than five centimeters.
Train delays also occurred at Depok railway station,
passengers reported.