Heavy rains hit several parts of the capital on Saturday and Sunday, while city officials could only promise to repair a number of roads heavily damaged by the downpours and subsequent floods.
South Jakarta suffered the worst of the deluge. In Pondok Labu around 300 houses were inundated with floodwaters up to 2 meters deep. According to the Jakarta Traffic Management Center (TMC), the water in front of the Arcadia Building on Jl. TB Simatupang was also up to 70 centimeters deep.
For residents of Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta, dealing with floods has become routine. According to Karyadi, 54, who has lived in the area since 1984, his family and other neighbors tried to remain positive about the natural problems.
“We must be always happy otherwise we will get depressed and this is not the first time floods have hit us,” Karyadi told kompas.com.
Jakarta Public Works Agency says it plans to repair a number of roads damaged by heavy rain.
“We have had an extraordinary amount of rain this year, with rainfalls regularly reaching more than 50 millimeters per day. In some areas rainfalls have exceeded 150 millimeters in a single day, the amount normally expected over a three-to five-day period,” water resource treatment subdivision chief Tardjuki said.
The rainfalls are among the heaviest Jakarta has experienced since the 1980s. Complicating matters are drainage outlets frequently clogged with trash and sedimentation, resulting in roadside puddles up to half a meter deep in some areas.
At least 106 locations were reportedly damaged by the deluge, Tardjuki said.
The agency had allocated Rp 203 billion (US$22 million) to repair damaged roads, he said.
Locations due for repairs included Jl. Cilacap, Jl. Pasuruan, Jl. Wahid Hasyim and Jl. Sabang in Central Jakarta; Jl. Gatot Subroto, Mampang, Jl. Gandaria and Rasuna Said in South Jakarta; Jl. Daan Mogot, and Jl. Kalideres in West Jakarta; Jl. Kol. Sugiono and Jl. Baladewa in East Jakarta and Jl. Lodan, Jl. Kampung Bandan, Muara Baru in North Jakarta.
The agency plans to remove garbage obstructing drainage outlets, dredge waterways and canals and install water pumps in flood-prone neighborhoods.
The agency also plans to widen rivers in the city, including the West Flood Canal, Angke River, Pesanggrahan River and Sekretaris River, to restore them to the their former widths.
The North Jakarta administration has allocated Rp 51 billion to dredge waterways and canals, and Central Jakarta has earmarked Rp 80 billion to procure pumps and widen waterways and canals, Jakarta Public Works Agency water management chief Irvan Amtha said.
The city government’s plans, however, have faced harsh criticisms from several urban activists, who have called its efforts sluggish and insufficient.
These schemes will not solve the roots of our problems because the administration is merely reacting to damage, rather than proactively conducting proper inspections and committing to regular maintenance, Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Wahli) executive director Ubaidillah said.
The administration needs a longer-term perspective, and work to restore infrastructure and establish appropriate water catchment areas, he said.
