T

he embankment of the Kali Pulo River in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, burst on Sunday amid heavy downpour throughout the day as unusual volumes of water came from upstream, causing an overflow.

South Jakarta Water Management Agency head Holi Susanto confirmed that the broken embankment, also known as the Baswedan Embankment, is located next to the Sabili Mosque in neighborhood unit (RT) 04 of community unit 06 in the Jatipadang subdistrict.

The incident was first reported at about 6:30 p.m.

Holi said the agency’s workers, assisted by personnel from the city’s Public Facility Maintenance Agency (PPSU) and the Indonesian Military, had built a makeshift barrier “by placing wooden piles plus sandbags to temporarily withstand the water”, as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that his agency would replace the temporary structure with permanent piles once the water receded.

Parts of RT 03 and RT 04 were inundated with river water, the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency said on its Twitter account @BPBDJakarta on Monday.

The embankment had undergone repairs after it collapsed in December 2017. City officials found cracks in the embankment in February last year and responded with more repair work.