Rude awakening for man in flood

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.