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akarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama was clearly shocked on Feb. 9 to see large swaths of the city submerged in water, including the so-called '€œRing One'€ area, where government offices like City Hall and the State Palace are located.

An angry Ahok cited '€œsabotage'€ as a possible explanation for the flooding at the National Monument (Monas) and the State Palace, accusing state electricity company PT PLN of playing role in the disaster.

Following heavy rains Sunday and Monday, main thoroughfares like Jl. MH Thamrin, Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat and Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara were under water. City administration data showed that 107 other parts of the city also flooded, displacing thousands of families and disrupting public transportation like the commuter rail and the Transjakarta bus system.

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has estimated that financial losses the flooding would reach Rp 1.5 trillion (US$117 million) a day.

Ahok'€™s astonishment with the magnitude of the flooding is understandable, as a few days prior he expressed confidence his administration was prepared for the event. '€œThe floodwaters will recede in less than a day,'€ he said at the time.

In response to the Monday floods, he pointed his finger at PLN, citing the power outages that had disabled water pumps from disposing of the fast-falling rain that the city'€™s dysfunctional drainage system was unable to manage.

Instead of blaming PLN, Ahok should have admitted that the flooding was unavoidable as the rainfall measured 170 millimeters on Monday, far exceeding the city'€™s flood-mitigation capabilities. The city administration should instead admit that most  flood-mitigation projects have not yet been completed, or are still in the pipeline. And that government will, as a consequence, be unable to put an end to these disasters anytime soon.

On the other hand, citizens had high hopes that Ahok and then governor Joko '€œJokowi'€  Widodo would solve the problem of Jakarta flooding as they promised in their gubernatorial campaign in 2012. Most gubernatorial hopefuls would have taken such a popular position, despite the obvious challenges to making good on the promise.

Following the record-setting floods of 2007 '€” which submerged nearly 60 percent of the city'€™s territory, killed 80 people, displaced some 300,000 people and caused Rp 4.3 trillion in damages to property and infrastructure '€” the city has stepped up flood-mitigation efforts

The head of the City Water Management Agency, Agus Priono, said the city needed Rp 118 trillion to comprehensively mitigate the seasonal flooding; more than one-and-a-half times the entire city budget for this fiscal year.

The budget in fact only allocates Rp 2.5 trillion for flood-mitigation projects.

Among the  mega-projects aimed at reducing flooding include a deep tunnel, a giant seawall along the north coast, water reservoirs in the higher elevations, river-dredging and the revitalization of dozens of lakes in the capital and neighboring cities.

In addition to those multi-trillion rupiah projects, the city will have to repair its drainage system, which has been blamed for flooding on many roads even when heavy rains are absent. Jakarta also needs more pump houses to protect flood-prone areas from inundation.

The city has been making some progress: it has completed the East Flood Canal, the largest flood-mitigation project undertaken since independence. Like the West Flood Canal, which was built by the Dutch colonial government, the East Flood Canal is designed to reduce the burden of rivers that flow through the capital.

The 23.5 km canal, which cost nearly Rp 5 trillion to build, has managed to significantly ease flooding in the eastern part of Jakarta. The current administration is now trying to connect the two canals to ease flooding in the western part of the city. Unfortunately, difficulties acquiring land have stalled the project.

The most recent success story in preventing floods was the expansion of the Pluit dam in North Jakarta during Jokowi'€™s administration, when Ahok was deputy governor. To carry out the project, the city administration relocated nearly 5,000 squatters who had been occupying state land near the dam for years.  

Meanwhile, late in 2013, the city administration and the central government launched a massive World Bank-funded dredging project that cost $150 million. Under the Jakarta Emergency Dredging Initiative (JEDI) project, which remains underway, 11 rivers will be dredged.

There are more projects, but the city has limited resources to implement them, meaning the sad story of flooding looks unlikely to end anytime soon.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast heavy downpours in Greater Jakarta through  the end of the month, meaning Jakarta should be prepared for more floods ahead.

Governor Ahok does not have to be in panic mode. He only needs to explain to the people what his administration has done and will do to mitigate flooding, and how the people can contribute to the city'€™s efforts.

Rather than blaming other parties, it would be better for Ahok to do his own part and make amends for what he lacks. People will hold him, not other parties, responsible for the flooding.