Riverbank residents ready to face this year's floods
Riverbank residents ready to face this year's floods
JAKARTA (JP): Considering it a regular activity, city
residents living in flood-prone areas have made necessary
preparations to "welcome" the upcoming rainy season.
Residents said on Thursday that floods had been part of their
lives, that there was nothing for them to complain about.
"What we can do as poor families is just to find ways to
survive. Otherwise, we should just move to Pondok Indah (an elite
estate in South Jakarta)," said Fitri, whose house is located on
the Ciliwung riverbank in the Bukit Duri subdistrict of East
Jakarta.
She said residents living along the riverbanks were always on
the alert to save their belongings because local community
leaders had always warned of the possibility of incoming floods.
"Officials at the Depok floodgate always inform our community
leaders whenever they plan to open the gate.
"The move means that the water will flow into the Ciliwung
river. And hours later the area will be hit by flood," she said.
Like almost all of her neighbors, Fitri would immediately make
preparations, putting electronic goods such as television sets,
radio's and electronics fan in higher places.
"We have been accustomed to keeping important documents in a
special box in the upper part of the room and wrapping them with
plastic," she said.
Preparations have been made by residents in the neighborhood,
recently affected by heavy rainfalls.
Most of the residents have two-story houses, made of lower
quality plywood, which is wrapped with formica to protect it from
water.
Risyad, another Bukit Duri resident, said that the residents
could even predict the flood level after the announcement from
the community leaders.
"Officials at the floodgate also always inform us about the
water level which will flow into our area so that we know how we
should prepare ourselves," he said.
Different preparations were made by residents of the Tengkis
slum area close to the Ancol Dreamland Park in North Jakarta,
where even during the dry season the water level of the murky
Ciliwung river was just several inches below the nearby Gunung
Sahari street.
No complicated preparations were made by the poor families to
avoid the flood. They moved to a nearby unused railway area,
which is higher than their original place, and just scattered
their belongings there.
"We have nothing precious to save from the floods as we only
have household appliances," said housewife Sakem in her six
square meter shack.
Sakem, a scavenger, said she repeatedly suffered from skin
diseases after the floods.
"But, I will take it easy. I just need to soak my feet in a
hot, salty water, and it will be cured," said the illiterate
mother of one boy who even did not know her own age.
Another scavenger, Nano, said the only difficulty for the
approximate 150 families during the flood was that they could
hardly find any rubbish to sell.
"There is nothing to be worried about when the floods come as
they have become a routine for us," said Nano. (ind)