Rude awakening for man in flood
Theresia Sufa and Marilin, The Jakarta Post, Bogor/Depok
A man woke up in a tree in Depok on Sunday night to find that he and his house had been swept downriver by floodwaters in the area.
A heavy downpour and mounting garbage at the Laya River at Pal Sigunung village in Cimanggis, Depok, late on Sunday, led to an overflow that destroyed the riverbank and swept away the man's house, which was less than three meters from the river.
Sobirin, 36, was sleeping at around 8 p.m. when the strong current smashed through the walls of his home. His wife and two children were not at home at the time.
Washed down the river, Sobirin woke up when he was snagged by a tree.
Returning to his house, he found only his kitchen remained, while all his belongings had been carried away by the water. His motorcycle, which he used to sell household utilities, was also severely damaged.
Depok public works head Yayan Hariyanto, in a visit to the site, said the agency would help rebuild the house and compensate the family.
Meanwhile, flooding in a housing complex in Kedung Halang on Sunday has prompted frustrated residents to withhold their monthly mortgage payments in protest at the lack of adequate drainage in the estate.
About five hours of heavy rain in Bogor on Sunday afternoon led to knee-high flooding at least 30 houses in the medium-cost Ciluar Asri housing complex.
Ita, a resident of Blok D6, told The Jakarta Post the developer, Tiga Cipta, had not taken drainage into account when it built the complex.
Residents had agreed to withhold the monthly installment of Rp 523,000 (US$61) until the company found a solution to the problem, she said.
This was the second time in a year the complex had been flooded after heavy rain. Residents had told Tiga Cipta last year to build a more effective drainage system to prevent a recurrence, Ita said.
"The sewers in our neighborhoods, which are on low-lying locations, are not big enough to accommodate floodwater coming from the higher Blok B area."
"But instead of reconstructing the drainage system, the developers just dredged the sewers," she said.
In Bekasi, most of the houses in the Satria Kencana development were inundated with fast-rising floodwaters early on Monday, although there had been no rain in the municipality.
As of Monday morning, the water was at a height of 50 centimeters.
A resident, Arifin Siga, said the floodwater came from the overflowing river.
"The same thing happened here four years ago, when this area was hit by floodwater out of season," he was quoted by Antara as saying.