Flood Points Increases

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Two rubber boats comb the submerged residences of the Cileungsi River and Cikeas River at Pondok Gede Permai Housing in Jatiasih, Bekasi City, West Java, Friday (19/2/2021).

High rainfall has triggered flooding in East Jakarta, Bekasi City and a number of other areas on the island of Java. Residents in the Jakarta area have been urged to remain alert over extreme rainfall until Saturday.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — High rainfall that pounded the cities of Bekasi in West Java, and East Jakarta in Jakarta, from Thursday to Friday (18-19/2/2021) morning, triggered widespread flooding. In Bekasi, standing water increased from 25 points to 40 points.

The manager of the center of control and operation of the Bekasi City Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Wiratma Puspita, said that as of yesterday at 11:00 a.m., puddles measured 10-100 centimeters (cm) across 12 districts. Floods have disrupted residents\' mobility on a number of main roads and going toward shopping centers.

Also read: Elegy for early 2021: Upstream Landslides, Downstream Flooding

"We’re still collecting data on the number of affected residents. We are also coordinating with related agencies to make repairs on the embankment that is vulnerable to damage," said Wiratma.

This condition resulted in the inundation that did not recede until 3:00 p.m. with an inundation height of about 50 cm.

Based on a report compiled by BPBD Bekasi City, one embankment was broken in Rawalumbu district. Then, a landslide occurred around the embankment in Jati Asih district. At Pondok Gede Permai Housing Complex, the embankment began tilting and finally collapsed due to a landslide two days earlier. This condition resulted in the inundation that did not recede until 3:00 p.m. with an inundation height of about 50 cm.

"Work on the embankment has been carried out by the related agency, which has deployed heavy equipment. Hopefully this can anticipate worsening landslides,” he said.

The head of BPBD Bekasi City, Agus Harpa Senjaya, said the joint team was cooperating with residents to deal with landslides and fallen trees. "There are several landslide areas to be handled. We’re also coordinating with the local subdistrict and district heads as a consideration for preparing logistics if there is a request from the residents," said Agus.

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In the Bogor area, West Java, a 10 cm high puddle was found on a main road. However, flooding can be anticipated by operating water pumps.

Overflowing rivers

One of the factors that triggered the flooding was an increase in the water level of Cileungsi River, the upstream of which is in Bogor regency. The head of the Cileungsi-Cikeas River Care Community, Puarman, said that the water level in the upstream of the Cileungsi River on Friday at 11:00 a.m. was 130 cm or in Siaga 4 or the 4th (lowest) level alert. Normally, the water level in the upstream is 100 cm.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Several residents were evacuated by rubber boats at Pondok Gede Permai Housing in Jatiasih, Bekasi City, West Java, Friday (19/2/2021) due to the floods of the Cileungsi River and Cikeas River.

The water level at the Cikeas River, which crosses Jakarta, reached 200 cm, which is considered normal. However, the water level at the meeting point between the Cileungsi and Cikeas Rivers reached 600 cm (Siaga 1 or the first (highest) level alert).

"The spike in water flow needs to be monitored since it is raining in the upstream area of the Cileungsi River," said Puarman.

The National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Lapan) has reminded residents to be aware of the potential for major flooding. This is because extreme rain in Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi is still likely to occur until Saturday (20/2). Prediction of Lapan\'s satellite-based Disaster Early Warning System is in line with the early warning of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

By looking at the data, according to Riza, the impact of flooding was not as big as in previous years.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria said flooding on Friday had impacted 57 neighborhood units (RTs) out of a total of 30,470 RTs. The evacuees consisted of 182 families. By looking at the data, according to Riza, the impact of flooding was not as big as in previous years. For example, in 2013 there were 1,115 evacuation points, in 2015 there were 337 evacuation points, in 2019 there were 13 evacuation points, and in 2020 there were 70 evacuation points.

"This year, the rainfall is higher than previous years. Then, in the past two days, according to the BMKG, there has been potential for rain of greater intensity, the potential for inundation, maybe even flooding. However, thank God there was no extraordinary flooding like in previous years," said Riza.

Hitting the regions

Floods also hit a number of other regions, such as Karawang and Cirebon regencies, West Java, and Pekalongan regency, Central Java. At least four districts in Karawang became flooded again. As of Friday afternoon, there was 30cm of inundation in the Bumi Mutiara Indah Housing (PBMI) complex, Cikampek, Karawang. The water level at various points varied from 20 cm to 70 cm.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Residents crossed the overflow of the Cileungsi River and Cikeas River which submerged Pondok Gede Permai Housing in Jatiasih, Bekasi City, West Java, Friday (19/2/2021).

The chairman of the Community Communication Forum of PBMI, Yusuf N, 57, said that since Thursday night, heavy rain had flushed the housing area. On Friday at around 05:00 a.m., water began to enter residents\' houses and caused around 500 houses to be submerged in water.

The head of BPBD Karawang, Yasin Nasrudin, said that there were four districts affected by the flood, namely Pangkalan, Cikampek, Telukjambe Barat, and Rengasdengklok districts. (CIP/GIO/BRO/IKI/MEL/XTI)

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)