Two-Metre Flood Trauma: Bekasi Residents Call for Accelerated Embankment Construction

BEKASI, KOMPAS.com – Residents of Pondok Mitra Lestari (PML), Jatirasa Sub-district, Jatiasih District, Bekasi City, are urging the regional government to promptly resolve land acquisition issues that are hindering the construction of the Bekasi River embankment.

Residents fear a major flood could recur if the flood-control project is not completed.

One resident, Alimah (74), asked Bekasi Mayor Tri Adhianto to take concrete steps so that the embankment construction can continue and floodwaters no longer inundate settlements.

She said the land acquisition issue is within the regional government’s jurisdiction. If this obstacle can be resolved, the embankment construction is believed to be able to proceed soon.

As a resident who was affected by floods up to two metres high in March 2025, Alimah hopes the connecting embankment will be accelerated.

‘We very much hope for the construction of the connecting embankment. Because from last year’s experience, the floods were extremely severe and very bad,’ she said.

She added that residents who do not have two-storey houses suffered significant losses when the floods struck. The trauma from the incident remains felt to this day.

‘We are still traumatised and always fearful. Especially when yesterday we heard sirens indicating possible flooding, we had already packed the items on the ground floor,’ Alimah said.

According to him, when the flood warning siren sounded, residents immediately protected their vehicles and household goods for fear of another major flood.

The Project Implementation and Maintenance Officer (PPK OP) of the Ciliwung Cisadane River Basin Authority (BBWSC), Geri Ramdhan Dazali, said that at several points along the Bekasi River, particularly in Bekasi City, the embankment has been reinforced with retaining walls.

However, there are still several locations that cannot be worked on due to land acquisition constraints.

‘Thus along the Bekasi City stretch, there are several sites that cannot be implemented because of land acquisition issues,’ he said.

He explained that river-walk activities were conducted together with the Chair of the Bekasi City DPRD Commission II, a representative of the Cileungsi Cikeas River Care Community (KP2C), and local residents to monitor directly the spots that do not yet have embankments.