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Retailers experience more than Rp 1 trillion in losses amid massive flooding: Association
In Jakarta alone, around 300 shops were closed, resulting in estimated losses of Rp 960 million.
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People stand near a damaged car after flooding in Cimareme, West Bandung, West
Java, on Jan. 1. Antara/Novrian Arbi (Antara/Novrian Arbi)
I
t has been estimated that retailers in Greater Jakarta will have lost more than Rp 1 trillion (US$71.91 million) as retail shops in the area cease operations on account of severe flooding since Tuesday night, according to a retailers association.
“The Christmas and New Year holidays are a peak period for retail sales, so [the flooding] is very unfortunate,” Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo) chairman Roy Mandey said on Thursday as quoted by kontan.co.id, adding that around 400 retailers were forced to close their shops due to the flooding.
In Jakarta alone, he went on to say, around 300 shops were closed, resulting in estimated losses of Rp 960 million.
His calculation did not include losses seen by 10 shopping malls and several traditional markets in the area.
Roy called on the city administration to prepare flood contingency plans and expressed hope that this tragedy could serve as an important lesson for the administration.
“This issue affects spending and we know that household spending is a major contributor to the country’s GDP. I hope the city administration takes this matter more seriously,” he said.
Heavy rainfall since Tuesday night has caused massive flooding in several areas of Greater Jakarta as the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded the worst rainfall in over a decade on New Year’s Eve with 377 millimeters per day of intensity.
Official data shows that the disaster has claimed 43 lives as of Friday morning and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. (mfp)
