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Residents rely on local knowledge to warn of floods
The absence of a flood early-warning system in Cipinang Melayu, East Jakarta, has forced the residents to rely on their own instincts to prepare for floods, a fact that called into question incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s claim that the warning system for the city’s 13 rivers functions well.
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Residents of Sepatan Village, Rorotan, North Jakarta, take shelter in an empty container on Feb. 22. Around 300 people evacuated and slept in an empty container after heavy rain that flooded their houses. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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he absence of a flood early-warning system in Cipinang Melayu, East Jakarta, has forced the residents to rely on their own instincts to prepare for floods, a fact that called into question incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s claim that the warning system for the city’s 13 rivers functions well.
A community head in Cipinang Melayu, Irwan Kurniadi, said that after living for 30 years in the area, which is prone to flooding, the residents were trained to read the natural signs that indicated that flooding from the Sunter reservoir would hit the village.
“If the residents see that the river is flowing swiftly and starts filling the ditches, they will know that a flood is on the way. We have nothing to warn us about flooding except our instincts and experience,” Irwan told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Last week, Irwan said, the residents were aware of the potential flood that later inundated the area, as the torrential downpour continuously hit the village.
“We just didn’t expect that the flood would be so bad. We weren’t prepared for that . The residents didn’t have time to rescue their goods,” Irwan told the Post on Friday.
(Read also: 54 areas in Jakarta hit by floods)
The Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) currently uses a text message-based system, called “SMS blast”, to alert people living along riverbanks of a possible flood.
Unfortunately, no warning text was received by the residents, Irwan said. (dan)
