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Riverbank fails, shops collapse after rain in North Jakarta
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Jakarta Public Facility Maintenance Agency (PPSU) workers, also known as the "Orange Troops", clear the debris of collapsed shops on Oct. 24 in Pejagalan, North Jakarta. (kompas.com/Ardito Ramadhan D)
The rainy season that has just begun had caused a riverbank to collapse on Tuesday in Pejagalan, North Jakarta.
Six semi-permanent shops on Jl. Jembatan Gambang Raya along the bank of the Tubagus Angke River were flattened when the riverbank collapsed and took several segments of the river's sheet piling with it.
Pejagalan subdistrict head Yogara Fernandez said the collapse occurred when the riverbank failed as result of accumulated mud from heavy rain.
“The sheet piling aged and held mud. A river re-functioning project had dredged [the bank] to a depth of two meters,” said Yogara as kompas.com quoted him on Wednesday.
Yogara added that Monday's rain had also accelerated the river current and eroded the bank.
The incident did not cause any fatalities, but has caused losses of around Rp 40 million (US$2,634) to the shop owners.
“It began with a small crack. They noticed that and fled the [shops],” said Yogara, and that the shop owners escaped before the collapse occurred.
Debris from the shops remained scattered in the area on Wednesday morning, although it was later cleared by workers from the Jakarta Public Facility Maintenance Agency (PPSU).
It has been reported that the city will evict the owners of 15 other semi-permanent shops in the area to prevent another riverbank collapse. (vla)
