The Homework of Overcoming Jakarta Floods

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Residents penetrated the flood due to the overflow of Krukut River in Karet Tengsin Village, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, onTuesday (25/2/2020).

Floods prevailing in the rainy season have posed a problem that is hard to solve by anyone at the helm of Jakarta. So far, the Jakarta provincial government has made various attempts to deal with the floods.

All attempts to overcome floods indeed is no easy matter. Sustainable and synergetic efforts have to be undertaken to cope with the floods. In this way, no more residents will become flood victims.

When the floods overwhelmed Community Unit (RW) 005 of Pondok Pinang, Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, on Thursday afternoon (6/10/2022), residents were hurtling helter-skelter to save their belongings in their houses. Flood water was flowing in rapidly at a height of 120 centimeters.

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In one of the residents’ low-lying houses already inundated with water, the chair of Neighborhood Unit (RT) 017-RW 005 Tuti, along with other local people, helped lift wooden chairs and tables to the second floor.

“The river is now getting very shallow and there has been no widening. So, when it rains or when the river overflows due to an upstream water current, we usually are already alert. But now we have local floods. Water rises rapidly, we were unprepared,” said Tuti.

Meanwhile, residents of RT 017 totaling 156 or 52 families were all impacted by the floods.

Due to the floods, 704 people were affected in 8 RTs of RW 005. Meanwhile, residents of RT 017 totaling 156 or 52 families were all impacted by the floods.

When the floods occurred, no residents evacuated because the average height of water was still 50-120 cm. In less than 24 hours, the water was gradually draining. Residents will evacuate when the height of water reaches above 130 cm.

“But we stay alert, preparing to evacuate when the height of water reaches 100 cm. Rubber boats are readied and the furniture is saved from damage,” she said.

The settlement in RW 005 is not far from the Pesanggrahan River. A number of houses are even only around one meter from the edge or bank of the river. Most of the houses have been raised higher or have a second floor, but some of them have remained in low places so they become inundated when flood water reaches 100 cm.

The Pesanggrahan River, passing settlements around the region, has not been dredged again. This has become a challenge for Jakarta leaders to pay attention to the zone.

The only choice for Tuti and the local residents is to remain in the flood-prone settlements. They hope the Pesanggrahan River passing their zone will routinely be dredged and widened.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO (PRI)

Officers evacuate residents from their flooded houses at the IKPN Complex, Bintaro, Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, on Saturday (20/2/2021).

“We’re tired every time we get flooded, we have to do cleaning work, our activities are disturbed, it causes materialistic and non-materialistic harm. Where should we move? We can only afford to stay here. We can just hope for the government’s attention, nothing more,” said Tuti, who has lived in the region for 15 years.

One of the other zones frequently hit by floods is in Kebon Pala, Kampung Melayu, Jatinegara, East Jakarta, which is traversed by the Ciliwung River.

The rain soaking Bogor on Sunday afternoon (9/10) through the night caused the water level of the Ciliwung River to reach 220 cm or Alert 1 level for Jakarta. Around 10 hours later, the flow of the Ciliwung River reached Jakarta and gave rise to floods in several parts. One of which was Kebon Pala, where the water was 150-175 cm high.

Riverbank occupation

Sofian, 53, a resident of RT 001-RW 011, Kebon Pala, said when it rains with high intensity, combined with the Ciliwung River’s overflow due to an upstream current, floods can be as high as 3-4 meters. In this condition, belongings can hardly be saved. One of the causes of the frequent floods around Kebon Pala is the occupation of land on riverbanks for houses.

“The side of Kampung Melayu isn’t dammed yet, while the part across Kampung Duri has been dammed. This zone is also densely populated as houses cover the edges of the river. Previously there was still a distance of 20 meters between houses and river edges. There’s a discourse about river bank normalization and moving the riverbanks. But we don’t know how far along it has been followed up,” he said.

Although he claims to be unwilling, Sofian who has grown up in the area is ready to be relocated to a more decent place if the government carries out the river bank normalization. It is wiser than living in a flood-prone zone that causes anxieties and losses.

Apart from material losses, floods also claim human lives. Three students from a state Islamic Junior High School (MTs 19) were killed by collapsing walls on Jalan Kalijati, Pondok Labu subdistrict, Cilandak district, South Jakarta, on Thursday afternoon (6/10).

The river and sewer flows were believed to have triggered the collapse of the western school walls about 2 meters high at around 2:50 p.m., falling on a number of students.

The school is situated in a basin zone. A river and the sewers behind the school overflowed because of downpours and heaps of garbage, which caused water streams to not run smoothly. The river and sewer flows were believed to have triggered the collapse of the western school walls about 2 meters high at around 2:50 p.m., falling on a number of students.

The state MTs 19 incident aroused the concern of residents. “We as residents feel concerned, hopefully their families can bear the grief with fortitude. In the future, it must never recur anywhere else,” said Amirul, 45, a Pondok Labu resident.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the ranks of the Jakarta provincial government stuck to the principle of alertness, responsiveness and supportiveness in anticipating floods in Jakarta. As a result, flooding has subsided more rapidly and flood spots have decreased in spite of the extreme rainfall. Geographically, Jakarta is surrounded by 13 rivers, so there will always be potential for floods.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan

“The drainage system in Jakarta has a threshold. The drainage collection capacity is about 100-150 millimeters per day. Therefore, if rainfall is below 100 mm per day, we have to make sure that Jakarta is safe and rainfall can be properly handled. On the other hand, if extreme rainfall is above 100 mm per day, there will inevitably be inundations and floods will thus occur,” said Anies in a written statement on Saturday (8/10).

In the meantime, head of the Center of Ciliwung Cisadane River Zones (BBWSCC), Bambang Heri Mulyono, said the handling of floods in Jakarta requires commitment and cooperation with all parties. The Ciliwung River normalization is carried on despite the constraints of land clearance. This year, there has been a river bank normalization in the Cawang area along 800 meters of the planned normalization of 33 kilometers of the Ciliwung River.

(This article was translated by Aris Prawira)