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Kampung Pulo flood has shifted to Kemang: BNPB
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A section of road in Kemang, South Jakarta, is seen flooded on Oct. 4, 2016, after heavy rains hit the capital. (kompas.com/ Nibras Nada Nailufar)
T
he annual flooding that usually afflicts East Jakarta's Kampung Pulo area has shifted to Kemang, South Jakarta, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has stated.
"In October alone, Kemang has been flooded four times," BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in East Jakarta on Thursday, as quoted by tribunnews.com on Thursday.
He cited the degraded Krukut River to be the main cause of the floods.
The Krukut River has narrowed from 20 meters to only 4 to 5 meters because of physical structures that have been built illegally on the designated green space along its riverbanks. The illegal structures include luxury residences.
Sutopo admitted that restoring the river would be costly, not to mention the disruption it would cause to the public.
However, he said, the Ciliwung River restoration project had decreased the frequency of floods in East Jakarta's Bukit Duri area, which was once a flood-prone area.
The ongoing Ciliwung project costs Rp 1.18 trillion (US$86.6 million) and will widen the river from 25 meters to 40-50 meters. The project is also expected to increase the water flow from about 200 cubic meters per second at present to 570 cubic meters per second.
The BNPB records 125 subdistricts and 643 community units as flood-prone areas in the capital, with the flooding mainly caused by problematic conditions along riverbanks and heavy rains that increase the risk of floods. (dis)
