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Stronger and taller, Jakarta's new coastal wall sheds residents’ anxiety about severe tidal flood
“Now, thank God, there is no more severe tidal flooding,” he said.
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Kamal Muara residents get a stronger and taller coastal embankment to protect them from sea water in North Jakarta. (JP /Wendra Ajistyatama)
T
he floodwater had reached her neck when the rescue boat came. Devi Maryani, now 26, was nine months pregnant at the time, and was taken straight to the hospital where she gave birth a couple of days later.
Living by the sea, Muara Baru residents are familiar with seasonal tidal flooding and occasional severe floods. In 2013, the area was swallowed by coastal inundation, which happened to coincide with heavy local rainfall. During that flood, resident Ani Rubianti, 53, said her husband had to dive into floodwater to collect their stuff they could not live without, like their stir-fry pan, when they realized it would take days for the water to recede and they could cook their meals in their shelter at that time.
Now Devi and Ani are happy as there is a new coastal embankment near their house in neighborhood unit (RT) 20, community unit (RW) 17 in Muara Baru, Penjaringan, North Jakarta. The new wall is taller and stronger.
“I hope the [severe] flooding never returns,” Ani told The Jakarta Post.
An embankment was built a few meters away from the kampung in the early 2000s. However, the 2-meter retaining wall could not contain tidal waves even though it has been made taller several times because of the rapid land subsidence, which can be up to 25 centimeters per year in some parts.
The embankment was frail with some holes that caused seepage from the seawater. Nurrohman, 55, lives in a neighborhood in Muara Baru where parts of the old coastal wall had even collapsed. He was stoic about it. "We can still carry out our regular activities even during severe floods," he said.
