Residents still ready for floods

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already been withdrawn," said another resident, Sadli.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.