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loodwater that inundated flood-prone neighborhoods in Jakarta on Thursday has receded as of Friday. But authorities have warned that the worst is yet to come.

Floods with depths ranging from 30 to 400 cm hit neighborhoods in East, South and North Jakarta on Thursday following a heavy downpour in Bogor and Depok, West Java, the day before.

According to the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), there were seven flood-prone subdistricts in East and South Jakarta including Pangadegan, Rawa Jati, Kampung Melayu, Bidaracina and Cililitan, where more than 20 community units (RW) were affected by floods. More than 20,000 people living in these areas were affected but only a small percentage of them were evacuated to temporary shelters.

Agency spokesman Bambang Surya Putra said on Friday that the floodwaters had receded and many evacuees had left the shelters.

'€œKampung Melayu was still flooded but it was only up to 20 centimeters,'€ he told The Jakarta Post at his office in Central Jakarta.

The temporary shelters, however, will be on stand by for 24 hours a day during the rainy season, as the peak of the rainy season is expected to come early next year.

'€œWe have to be ready to anticipate the worst as the BMKG [Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency] has warned us that the rainy season will reach its peak in January or February. The agency head has instructed all teams, shelters and logistics [personnel], to remain on stand by,'€ he said, adding that the agency was supported by nine related agencies, including the Health Agency, the Social Affairs Agency and the Public Works Agency.

When the flood intensifies, he continued, security authorities including the Mobile Brigade and the Military Command would join forces to mitigate the disaster.

He claimed that flood-mitigation efforts which had been carried out over the past two years might reduce the flood impact by 30 percent.

'€œHowever, we can never predict the impact when the heavy rains come. It all depends on the intensity of the rain,'€ he said.

The Energy and Industry Agency has built more than 5,000 percolation pits across the capital over the past two years, hoping that the pits would reduce the impact of floods on the capital'€™s thoroughfares.

Public Works Agency head Agus Priyono claimed that the agency would be able to fix nine damaged water pumps within two weeks. The condition of the water pumps were revealed when Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama inspected a number of water pump houses and sluice gates in the capital earlier this week.

The city administration also used the momentum to persuade squatters occupying the riverbanks to relocate to make way for dredging projects.

City Secretary Saefullah said the city had provided four low-cost apartment towers to accommodate squatters living on the Ciliwung riverbanks in Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta and Manggarai in South Jakarta.

'€œThey can move to the new apartments located in the old building of the Public Works Agency on Jl. Jatinegara Barat, East Jakarta, next month,'€ he said.

Saefullah said the squatters were willingly to relocate and currently adjusting to the new environment.

'€œWe are waiting for the land acquisition process,'€ he said.

According to Saefullah, the squatters will be given due compensated depending on how long they had been staying on the riverbanks.

'€œPeople who just recently arrived are not eligible to receive compensation,'€ he said.