Residents still ready for floods
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Rain started to fall in some areas of Jakarta on Monday after two days of sunshine, forcing residents in flood-prone areas to prepare themselves for possible inundation. However, most relief program were no longer available, as many people had already returned home.
In Kampung Melayu subdistrict, East Jakarta, residents have yet to return the belongings they moved to the attic in their houses, although they had already returned home on Saturday. Overflowing water from the nearby Ciliwung River was 270 centimeters deep, submerging over 2,000 homes in the area last week.
A rope that was used to guide people during the evacuation process remained tightly strung from one house to another.
"Water did not recede as quickly as before. You can see the water level in the river is very close to our homes. We have been told that we must be alert, as it is raining in Depok and Bogor," Dedi, a resident, told The Jakarta Post.
Both Depok and Bogor, to the south of the capital, have been blamed by Jakartans for the floods that inundated the city. Rapid development of houses and villas in the Puncak mountain resort, Bogor and Depok has reduced water catchments. A similar situation can be seen in Jakarta, where many buildings have been constructed, reducing the amount of open space.
The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency warned earlier that more rain would fall until the middle of next month.
The withdrawal of aid in the middle of a period of possible flooding has saddened many. Temporary shelters and public kitchens, previously set up at St. Maria Church and Hermina Hospital, were no longer there on Monday. The city administration had already pulled out its medical team that had treated thousands of evacuees.
"There are no more relief programs, although we are still in dire need of them. Even rubber dinghies for evacuation have already been withdrawn," said another resident, Sadli.
In Petamburan subdistrict, Central Jakarta, residents did not try to clean their homes as they also expected more flooding. Overflowing water from the Cideng River inundated homes in three community units last week.
On the issue of assistance, spokesman of the Indonesian Navy Marine Corps Rear Admiral I Ketut Suarya said that flood victims had yet to make use of relief programs provided by the Navy.
"We didn't make a public announcement about the relief program but have made ready a number of boats and personnel. They are deployed especially to help flood victims," he said, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Suarya said that the Navy had given information to some flood crisis centers in the capital since the end of last year on its relief programs.
"We rarely get calls for help from flood victims," he said.
Currently, 70 Navy personnel and 15 boats were standing by to anticipate possible inundation, he said.
Flood victims are welcome to contact the Navy's flood crisis center on 7805008.