Some people prepared for floods, others not

Some people prepared for floods, others not

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With the water level of the flood at 60 centimeters and still
rising, Yuli decided it was time to leave her home in Cipinang
Melayu, East Jakarta.

The rapid flow of the ever rising Sunter River forced Yuli and
her eight-year-old son Sigit to cling to the rope prepared for
evacuation by the subdistrict office.

A temporary shelter had already been set up on higher ground.
The two stayed there for two days.

"I did not want to repeat the mistake of 2002," said Yuli, 31,
referring to the last time the city suffered crippling floods.
"That time we had to be rescued by boat and lost most of our
belongings."

To anticipate the perennial floods, the Jakarta Flood and
Disaster Mitigation Task Force set an early warning system, which
involves the monitoring of weather and water levels at 14 sluice
gates across the city.

Once a critical condition is reached, the task force will
inform the city agencies involved in rescue and relief efforts,
as well as the 186 subdistrict heads of 78 flood-prone areas.

The officials are then expected to evacuate the residents and
to provide them with emergency shelter.

The situation on the evening of Jan. 18 was different for
Aryo, 31, who wants his real name withheld. He was stuck on the
second floor of his home in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, with his
parents and younger sister surrounded by two-meter high water.

Aryo and his neighbors had wanted to evacuate the area which
is located near the Ciliwung River when the state electricity
company PLN shut off service at around midnight as the water was
rising quickly. But the subdistrict officials he called told him
to stay put and wait for assistance.

"We kept waiting and waiting, but no rescue boat showed up
until the following evening," Aryo said.

He decided to jump into the chilly floodwater, swimming and
wading about one kilometer to reach the office of adventure tour
company Arus Liar (wild currents). The company staff came to
rescue the family in one of their dinghies.

"The Bukit Duri subdistrict office has provided zero help,"
said Aryo, who has returned to his home, which was also badly
flooded in 1996 and 2002. "No early warning, no boat, no ropes,
no food ... nothing."

Aryo said that he was envious of the emergency preparations
put in place by officials and community leaders in Kampung
Melayu, East Jakarta, a neighboring subdistrict located just
across the Ciliwung River.

"They were better prepared," said Aryo. "At night, I could
hear announcements on load speakers informing the residents about
the water level at the sluice gates."

A neighborhood unit head of Kampung Melayu, Awang Sanwani,
said that by now the residents knew the vital figures by heart.

"When the level at Depok sluice gate reaches two meters and
Manggarai reaches 800 centimeters, we have to leave," he said.

The water levels at the Depok and Manggarai sluices are the
main indicators of whether or not the Ciliwung River will
overflow into the homes of Kampung Melayu residents, 80 percent
of whom live by the riverbanks.

Awang said the residents used to check on the water levels
themselves, not waiting for information from the flood mitigation
task force.

Small blackboards with the latest water levels and weather
forecasts written on them are also displayed around Kampung
Melayu neighborhoods.

During last week's floods, Kampung Melayu, which was the
hardest hit area in the city, saw 9,753 out of its 22,604
residents living in 17 emergency shelters set up by the
administration.