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Residents in flood-prone areas of Jakarta blame city for poor drainage system
Residents of Kebon Jeruk Baru suspected that the nearby Anak Kali Pesanggrahan water channel was clogged and was unable drain water, but the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD Jakarta) reported that the channel was functioning normally.
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Motorcyclists doze while waiting out a flood in Jelambar, West Jakarta, on Jan. 1. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan )
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brief rain dampened Jakarta’s roads on Monday morning, but many residents in flood-prone areas were gathering up belongings on the ground floor, worrying that water would enter the house.
“It rained on Saturday and the water pooled again as high as 15 centimeters. We had to go upstairs, and we have not been relaxed since the flooding on New Year’s Eve,” said Ratih Ana, a homemaker living in the Kebon Jeruk Baru housing complex in West Jakarta.
Tens of houses in the densely populated area, along with other flood-prone locations including Semanggi Interchange in Central Jakarta and Jl. Boulevard Barat in North Jakarta, were hit by a flash flood on Saturday morning as the result of a downpour that started on Friday night.
Residents of Kebon Jeruk Baru suspected that the nearby Anak Kali Pesanggrahan water channel was clogged and was unable drain water, but the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD Jakarta) reported that the channel was functioning normally.
“Even though the sewerage in this area is relatively clean and officials are regularly cleaning it, it still floods,” Ratih continued. “It’s all connected throughout the region, and if there is one place that is poorly managed, I believe other places will eventually get hit as well.”
Abdul Rohim, a pineapple seller who has run his kiosk in the housing complex for seven years, regretted the residents’ suppressed economic activity due to flooding. He said the knee-high flood on New Year’s Eve had put his stall out of business for days.
“In rainy season every year, the water has overflowed here even though the gutters have been quite clean,” said Abdul. “It’s clear that the city’s drainage system is interconnected and that some parts will somehow be the victim of flooding when other parts are clogged.”
