The city administration is on standby for flooding after heavy rain inundated numerous parts of Jakarta over the past few days.

Danang Susanto, Jakarta Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) mitigation and preparedness division head, said relevant agencies and local leaders were all set to anticipate flood as the rainy season approached its peak in December and January.

'€œAll 22 relevant agencies under the coordination of the BPBD as well as subdistrict and district heads have been instructed by the governor to prepare supplies and to activate disaster-mitigation procedures,'€ Danang announced at City Hall on Thursday.

The procedures, he said, included deploying officers in shifts 24 hours a day to monitor the situation in areas prone to flooding.

The city has allocated Rp 4 billion (US$344,145) in emergency funds to mitigate flooding.

Danang added that the agency was also prepared to carry out weather modification measures should the Climatology, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) consider the weather too extreme.

'€œWe will take any measures necessary to minimize the impact [of extreme weather],'€ he said.

Data shows that nine locations in Central Jakarta are prone to flooding: 19 in North Jakarta, 17 in West Jakarta, 12 in South Jakarta and eight in East Jakarta.

According to the agency, as of Thursday, 34 locations had been inundated by the floodwater over the last few days as a result of heavy rainfall.

At least 2,770 members of 1,045 families in 42 neighborhood units in East and South Jakarta have been affected.

Pesanggrahan district in South Jakarta, through which the Pesanggrahan River passes, is one of the most affected areas.

Acting Pesanggrahan district head Fajar Kurniawan said that 120 houses had been inundated, with the inundation level varying from 40 centimeters to 1.5 meters.

Floodwater also inundated the district'€™s temporary public kitchen, which was located not far from the riverbanks.

'€œWe have relocated the kitchen to near the shelter and have established a health post,'€ he said.

The office has distributed more than 600 lunch boxes and 700 evening meals, he added.

'€œAs of today, at least 95 women and children have evacuated to a temporary shelter, but I believe the number will increase, particularly at night,'€ Fajar told The Jakarta Post on Friday evening.

Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo said he would visit Pesanggrahan district for an inspection some time next week.

He acknowledged that his planned visit was related to the city administration'€™s program to relocate squatters occupying riverbanks, which was halted after some refused to leave their homes.

'€œI will check to see the real problem,'€ he said, adding that he assumed the issue was compensation.

'€œDredging the river [which leads to relocation] is a public decision. The project should continue no matter what. Should [the squatters] refuse to accept the compensation and relocate, we can settle the matter in court,'€ Jokowi pointed out.

Jokowi initiated a major dredging project as one of the administration'€™s main priorities during his tenure to reduce flooding and the negative impact on residential areas and traffic in the city.

The city administration has allocated Rp 2.5 trillion this year alone to fund flood-mitigation programs, which also include constructing 2,000 absorption pits across the capital.

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