Sofian, 55, eventually returned to his house in the flood-hit Puri Gede Permai housing complex in Jatiasih, Bekasi municipality, West Java, on Friday after he was evacuated to a nearby shelter the previous day.

He recalled the long wait for the evacuation that had left him, his wife and two children stranded on the rooftop of their house for hours. The Puri Gede Permai complex is among the most flood-affected areas, with floodwater reaching as deep as 3 meters on Thursday.

"I only got a portion of food for my whole family while waiting to be rescued, so we shared the food," Sofian told The Jakarta Post. He was eventually evacuated at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Sofian, however, might have to wait longer before he can sleep comfortably in his own home. Upon returning to his house, he was welcomed by ankle-deep mud. He hoped to borrow equipment with which to clean his house but to no avail, forcing him to buy it at a nearby store. To make things worse, there was also no clean water.

A water truck has since been deployed to the area, distributing 4,000 liters of water to residents with each household receiving 19 liters, most of which was used to clean their houses, which have been deluged by thick mud. Sofian, however, will have to wait to get his share of water as the truck has yet to pass his house.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) field coordinator Roslin Lamtarida, who paid a visit to the Puri Gede Permai shelter on Friday, said that a request for clean water had been made to the region-owned tap water company (PDAM). Rescue officers and volunteers had also been helping to clean up the mud, she said.

Assuming the cleaning process goes well and there is no more flooding, she predicted that the situation around the complex would return to normal by Saturday or Sunday.

The BNPB recorded that as of 9.30 a.m. on Friday, Bekasi municipality had the highest number of flood points with 58 areas flooded, followed by South Jakarta at 39, Bekasi regency at 27, East Jakarta at 13 and Bogor regency in West Java at 12 points. West Jakarta saw seven flood points, South Tangerang in Banten five points, Tangerang municipality, also in Banten, four points and Central and North Jakarta, two points each.

The severe flooding in Greater Jakarta has claimed at least 35 lives, as shown by data gathered by the Social Affairs Ministry, the Health Ministry and the BNPB as of 9 a.m. on Friday. The agency also reported that eight people were killed in Lebak regency, Banten, which is not part of Greater Jakarta.

Social action: Volunteers wrap parcels of rice at a public kitchen at the West Jakarta mayor’s office on Friday. The food was distributed to flood victims in Kembangan Selatan district. (JP/Dionnasius Aditya)

In Greater Jakarta, Bogor recorded the highest number of casualties with 16 deaths, East Jakarta with seven fatalities, while Bekasi and Depok, West Java, municipalities each recorded three deaths. Central Jakarta, West Jakarta, Bogor, Bekasi and Tangerang and South Tangerang reported one death each. A majority of these fatalities occurred after people were swept away by floods or were killed in landslides.

The massive floods have forced 178,754 people in Greater Jakarta out of their homes, with Bekasi recording the highest number of evacuees at 149,537 people. The evacuees have taken shelter in mosques, subdistrict office buildings and safer residential areas. In Jakarta, more than 8,000 people have been evacuated in East and South Jakarta each.

The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) deployed nine teams for evacuation as of 2 p.m. on Friday. Three of these were deployed to Medan Satria and Babelan in Bekasi, two each to Duren Sawit in East Jakarta and Ciledug in South Jakarta and one each to Rawa Buaya in West Jakarta and Kwitang in Central Jakarta.

Basarnas spokesperson Yusuf Latif told the Post that about 100 personnel were on standby, adding that a smaller number of teams was deployed as compared with Thursday as water had receded in several areas and requests for evacuation had also declined.

Home Minister Tito Karnavian said "the problem was not over yet" as many victims had to deal with the aftermath of the flooding, including mud covering their houses while some others were still inundated by floodwater.

"I'd like to emphasize to all regional heads to [...] prepare an emergency risk-management plan so that there's a systematic plan in mitigating and handling floods, evacuating victims, including post-flood measures," he told a press briefing at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Friday after an internal meeting with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

He suggested that local administrations evaluate whether they needed to declare an emergency status as the central government would help with the funding if the status was raised.

He said that local administrations could also use buffer funds and unspent funds (SILPA).

BNPB spokesperson Agus Wibowo said that Bekasi, Depok, South Tangerang, Tangerang and Lebak municipalities had declared an emergency status as of Friday evening.

"They can request funding assistance from the local government," he told the Post. (hpw)