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Jakartans evacuate, more rain in store
Flood victims: Children take a rest in a tent that was erected in the basement of the Hermina Hospital in East Jakarta on Tuesday
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Flood victims: Children take a rest in a tent that was erected in the basement of the Hermina Hospital in East Jakarta on Tuesday. Because of floods the childrenâs family and several other families from Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta, had to flee their homes and take shelter in the hospital that day. (JP/Awo) (JP/Awo)
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span class="caption">Flood victims: Children take a rest in a tent that was erected in the basement of the Hermina Hospital in East Jakarta on Tuesday. Because of floods the children's family and several other families from Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta, had to flee their homes and take shelter in the hospital that day. (JP/Awo)
Nearly 6,000 Jakartans were forced to leave their inundated homes on Tuesday, following incessant rainfall the previous night. Authorities predict the capital will experience the peak of the rainy season on Thursday and Friday.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that at least 5,986 residents had to evacuate to 14 different shelters, while a total of 15,517 residents in 33 districts were affected by floods.
The BNPB has established 28 tactical posts across Jakarta tasked with evacuation and logistics distribution, spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
West Jakarta saw the highest number of evacuees, with 1,660 residents relocated to temporary shelters during the flooding, according to the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).
However, many of the evacuees left the temporary shelters in the afternoon as the rain stopped and floodwater started to recede in some areas.
'Most evacuees have left the temporary shelters. Only some ' mostly the elderly ' remain,' East Cengkareng subdistrict leader AgusMulyadi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, adding that at least 1,000 of his residents had evacuated to nearby shelters.
Agus said temporary shelters in his subdistrict would be on standby to anticipate more floods. He said 14 out of 17 community units in his subdistrict were inundated by floodwater up to 1.5 meters deep in the morning, but the water receded halfway by the afternoon.
BPBD Jakarta head DennyWahyu claimed the number of areas affected by the floods was lower compared to last year.
'Last year, 634 community units were affected. Now the figure is 307,' he said.
He also warned that Jakarta would experience the peak of the rainy season this week.
'The rainfall will peak on Thursday and Friday,' he said.
Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama went to the State Palace on Tuesday to meet President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo to discuss the issue.
'The President will hold a meeting with state-owned company executives and relevant ministers for the technicalities,' he said.
The governor said he had asked to take over the management of the capital's thoroughfares ' which were inundated by floodwater ' from the central government to simplify maintenance procedures.
'When the flooding is over, I hope the city administration can take over the management of the thoroughfares so we can immediately fix the problem once it occurs,' he said.
Ahok said the city's flood mitigation infrastructure could cope with the rain as long as it did not last for 24 hours.
'If the rain continued non-stop for 10 days, that would be a real problem. At the moment, we can optimize the pumps in Ancol and I hope [state-owned power company] PLN won't shut off the electricity supply to the pump houses,' he said.
Ahok admitted that flooding had affected economic activities in the capital.
'I apologize to the business community for the economic losses caused by the flooding,' he said.
Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Jakarta chapter deputy chairman Sarman Simanjorang predicted that 75,000 stores located in shopping centers across the capital had suffered losses due to the floods.
'If one shop generates an average of Rp 20 million [US$1,572] a day in revenue, it means Jakarta loses at least Rp 1.5 trillion per day each time there's flooding,' Sarman said in a statement.
He added that many employees could also not go to work due to the flooding.
The city administration set aside Rp 2.7 trillion this year for flood-mitigation projects, comprising Rp 700 billion for land acquisition, with the remainder for infrastructure projects.
