Shelters still unavailable as floods begin to hit

Shelters still unavailable as floods begin to hit

M. Taufiqurrahman and Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

After heavy rainfall in Jakarta since early this week, flood
victims in Penjaringan subdistrict, North Jakarta, complained
about the absence of temporary shelters although the city
administration had distributed a Rp 10 million (US$1,176) relief
fund.

"There were neither shelters nor public kitchens for flood
victims in this area. We have to use our own initiative to get
help," one of the flood victims told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Water in the subdistrict reached up to 80 centimeters high,
swamping eight community units and forcing hundreds of people to
seek refuge on higher ground.

The situation in the field contrasted with a statement by a
subdistrict officer who said that it had established six shelters
for flood victims in the neighborhood.

"As soon as water started to inundated the area, we had
evacuated them to the shelters," claimed Joni, the subdistrict
deputy chief.

However, he declined to provide further information on the
fund allocated to help flood victims.

The administration distributed the relief fund to 186 chiefs
of flood-prone subdistricts across the city. It also distributed
cellular phones and prepaid cards and also two-way radios to
enable subdistrict chiefs to communicate better with the Jakarta
Flood Mitigation Agency.

However, the equipment may be of little use because the flood
mitigation task force at subdistrict level still have to follow
the bureaucratic chain of command.

Jumani, subdistrict chief of flood-prone Kramat in Central
Jakarta, said that residents must report to their community unit
head first who will later forward the report to the subdistrict.

He argued that such a mechanism would ease the burden of
officers at the subdistrict level.

Separately, head of the flood mitigation task force at City
Hall, Soebagio, said that the existing crisis center did not have
a role in handling the current floods. He said that an integrated
crisis center would be set up to better serve the public.

"I have proposed an allocation of Rp 200 billion from the city
budget to build an integrated crisis center for floods, fire and
other emergencies. If the City Council approves our proposal, I
hope the center will be completed within three years," he said.

Soebagio said that the City Public Works Agency had been
assigned to continuously monitor the water level at sluice gates
across the city, Depok and Katulampa dam in Bogor. When officers
at the agency receive information, they will relay it to the
agency officers in five municipalities who later on inform
district chiefs. The district chiefs will in turn inform
subdistrict chiefs who are responsible to inform residents. The
agency must also report to City Hall.

City Hall will take over when the situation is declared Siaga
II (Alert Level 2), one level below the red alert when Jakarta is
totally submerged.