Governor urges action to help distressed flood victims

Yuli Tri Suwarni ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Bandung   |  Tue, 12/09/2008 10:35 AM  |  The Archipelago

West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan has called on the central government to offer a comprehensive solution for the hundreds of residents in Cieunteung village in Baleendah, Bandung regency, who have been living with floods for the past week.

Sartika, 29, a Cieunteung resident and mother of two, said Sunday she was tired of having to return again and again to the shelter in Alun-Alun Baleendah square, which is higher than residents’ houses.

She said floods had hit the area more than five times in the past month, each time inundating houses for at least two days.

“This current flood is the longest one because it keeps raining here,” she said.

“We are used to floods, but usually they dry up quite quickly, not like what we are facing now. We cannot clean the trash and mud out of our houses because the heavy rains come and we’re flooded again.”  

Another resident, Esih, 32, said the severe floods had prevented her children from going to school because the school buildings were also inundated.

“It’s terrible because my daughter, who now is in sixth grade at elementary school, will soon take her final examination,” said Esih, adding the shelter was not comfortable as it lacked food and toilets.

“It becomes expensive to live in the shelter because we need to pay for our daily needs, like food and water. If we just waited for charity, our children could suffer from malnutrition.”

The floods had started to recede and dry up by Saturday, but a new wave of rain in the region on Sunday had the water once more rising in the village, forcing residents to return to the shelter.

At least 500 people living on the banks of the Citarum river banks to scramble to higher places to save their lives.

As of Sunday, at least 1,000 of the 7,000 flood-affected houses in Baleendah and Dayeuhkolot were still inundated.

Governor Heryawan has called on the government to act to address the severe flooding in the South Bandung area.

He said the floods had caused huge financial losses and disrupted social activities.

“The government has to determine the best approach soon as it is the decision maker, while we have only the right to offer ideas,” Heryawan said Monday.

The West Java government had planned to buy the entire Gunung Wayang slope area, which is at the origin of the Citarum river. Deforestation of the area has led to the floods whenever it rains.

The muddy floods have increased the sedimentation in Citarum, upon which about 10 million people in West Java depend.

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