Residents can expect more flooded roads

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Officials have warned residents to expect flooded streets throughout the rainy season, which is expected to peak sometime in December.

"Flooded roads will be common during the rainy season because the water cannot subside quickly enough due to the poor drainage system," the head of the Jakarta Public Works Agency, Wisnu Subagyo Yusuf, said during a hearing with City Council's Commission D overseeing development affairs.

Wisnu blamed the poor drainage on the badly coordinated construction of underground networks belonging to different institutions, including water pipes, gas pipes and phone cables, which often crisscross the drainage tunnels.

"When there is a heavy rain, these crisscrossed networks lead to clogged tunnels that are all blocked up by the garbage swept away by the rainwater," he said.

He said the area around Sarinah on Jl. Thamrin was often flooded after just brief downpours because the water was unable to drain away from east to west through Jl. Sunda, Jl. Wahid Hasyim, Jl. Kebon Sirih and Cideng.

"We need to move these networks (of pipes and cables) so they do not obstruct our drainage system," he said.

Drainage is a major problem in the city because 40 percent of Jakarta's land area is below sea level. In addition, 13 major rivers pass through the city, adding to the drainage woes.

At least 78 areas in the city are prone to flooding, most in North Jakarta. Although the administration has placed at least 112 water pumps in these areas, residents continue to complain of flooding following heavy rain.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has forecast that the rainy season will peak in December.

The agency said massive floods could sweep through the city if heavy rains fall on Jakarta and the upstream areas of Bogor in West Java for at least three consecutive days.

The worst flooding in Jakarta's modern history took place in early 2002, when two-thirds of the city was underwater. Thirty- one people died in the flooding and over 300,000 people were forced out of their homes. Jakarta was paralyzed for nearly a month, with virtually all activities coming to a halt.

The Jakarta Public Works Agency said it had hired several private companies to dredge Pluit reservoir, Tomang Barat reservoir and the Item River, and to erect concrete piles along riverbanks in the city to help prevent flooding.