City administration officials said Friday they had made sufficient preparations to face possible flooding in the city.
"We have prepared medicine, ambulances and medical staff which will be needed in the event of a flood," said head of the Jakarta Health Agency Dien Emawati.
Floods occur every rainy season in Jakarta, usually hitting the city in January and February.
According to the Jakarta Crisis Center, the health agency has prepared 324 health community centers, 134 ambulances, and more than 6,900 medical staff for a possible disaster.
The Crisis Center also reported that 434 boats, 242 tent, and 34 tanker trucks for clean water had been readied for flood victims who would be evacuated to 323 shelters in the city.
Dien said the agency had prepared medicines for water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, dengue fever, chikungunya, leptospirosis and skin diseases.
"We will also provide instant food for toddlers," she added.
Dien said that if an area began to flood, the agency would send supplies and a team of medical staff to the community centers and flood shelters located near the area.
"We have also prepared 17 referral hospitals for flood victims who cannot be treated in health centers," she said.
Dien said even after a flood subsides the agency would be busy handling patients and fogging the areas prone to water-borne diseases.
The crisis center identified 99 flood-prone areas in the city. In West Jakarta, 33 areas were identified, while North Jakarta had 26 areas, East Jakarta 22 areas, South Jakarta 10 areas and Central Jakarta 8 areas.
To date there have been no floods reported in the city this rainy season. However, due to heavy daily rain many streets in the city have become inundated.
The Jakarta Public Works Agency said in order to tackle the inundation of streets, the agency had been clearing city drains each day.
"About 72 workers from my agency clean the city drains every day," said the head of the public works agency Budi Widiantoro.
Budi is optimistic that there will be no major flood disaster in the city this year.
"We have long prepared for a flood disaster. The East Flood Canal is already connecting five out of the city's 13 rivers with the sea. The West Flood Canal has also been dredged," he said.
Budi said the agency had further plans to handle a potential flood.
"We already received Rp 120 billion for the construction of new drain channels. We will make a new drain channel which will connect the drains in Jl. Thamrin to the West Flood Canal in Cideng area in Central Jakarta," he said.
The new drain channels would also be made in Matraman in East Jakarta, Grogol and also Slipi in West Jakarta, he added.
The agency has also allocated Rp 290 billion to rehabilitate existing and build new artificial lakes in the city in order to retain rainwater.
"We will make new lakes in Cipayung in East Jakarta and Bintaro in South Jakarta this year," he said. (mrs)
