FLOODS HIT JAKARTA AS RAINY SEASON JUST STARTS By Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 20, 2014 (Antara)-  The rainy season has just started in Jakarta, but parts of the capital city were already flooded, and  some 17,837 inhabitants of East Jakarta and South Jakarta were displaced due to the flooding.

         Kampung Pulo, which is densely populated area located along Ciliwung River's bank in East Jakarta, was the worst hit by flood waters that reached a height of up to four meters on early Nov. 20, 2014.

         Floods forced 17,569 residents of Kampung Pulo, Bidara China, and Cawang in East Jakarta to seek temporary shelters, Chandra Gunawan of the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) said.

         The data on the number of displaced people was released by the Jakarta BPBD at 11 a.m. on Thursday (Nov 20). The data is updated every six hours.

         The floods were triggered by the overflowing of Ciliwung River, following incessant heavy rains in Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday afternoon (Nov 19).

         The displaced people have been accommodated in government offices and mosques. Several local communities set up public kitchens for flood victims.

         Earlier, Kampung Pulo had already  been hit by floods for three days consecutively (Nov 11-14). Floodwaters coming from Bogor, rose to heights between 30 centimeters and two meters.

         To help the flood victims, the health office has distributed relief aid comprising food and medicines. The BPBD is coordinating the relief efforts.

         In South Jakarta, residential areas in Pancoran and Pasar Minggu were also submerged in floodwaters that reached a height of up to a meter, on Nov. 20, 2014.

         Some 268 households were affected by the floods in South Jakarta, Endang Achadiat of the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) stated on Thursday (Nov. 20).

         "Until now, some 600 inhabitants of South Jakarta have taken refuge in safer places," he informed Antara.

         Some roads such as Gunung Sahari street in North Jakarta were also flooded on Nov. 20 morning.

         Jakarta is always flooded during the rainy season, which usually begins late in the year and lasts until February or March.

         In January 2014 alone, when the season reached its peak, floods claimed 23 lives, displaced tens of thousands of people.

         Last year, Jakarta suffered material losses worth Rp20 trillion, or US$2 billion, as a result of floods.
    The floods in 2007, which were among the worst that had submerged Jakarta and suburban areas, claimed more than 80 lives.

         This year, however, the metropolitan is ready to face floods, according to Governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama alias Ahok. 
    He recently expressed his optimism that Jakarta would be flooded for no longer than one day.

         "We are better prepared now as compared to previous years. I have ordered the head of sub-districts in Jakarta province to dredge the river basin (to ease the flow of water into the sea)," Ahok noted.

         The city administration conducted a variety of efforts to address flooding, including normalization of rivers, reservoirs and waterways, as well as the demolition of illegal buildings located along the banks of rivers and reservoirs.

         "I believe that the Jakarta city administration can handle flooding properly. The management of flooding is much better. So the floodwaters that hit Jakarta will recede fast and will not stay for longer than one day," Ahok said on November 12.

         Jakarta's Public Works Office has reinforced the existing dams and also installed several water pumps, particularly in areas like North Jakarta that are prone to be the first to be struck by the floods.

         Water pumps have been repaired and installed as a precaution against rising water levels that can cause flooding. The pumps can be operated optimally, according to a Jakarta's official.

         The Jakarta public works office has set up 133 water pumps in anticipation of possible flooding as the rainy season is expected to peak in January 2015.

         "All water pumps are made available in water pumping stations located throughout Jakarta. Their condition is good and are functioning well," Agus Priyono, the Jakarta public works office's head, stated on Nov. 19, 2014.

         Jakarta has a total of 142 water pumps, but nine of them were broken, he revealed.

         The Jakarta administration has allocated Rp5 billion in funds to repair the water pumps.

         Jakarta's water pumping stations are located in areas such as Tanjungan, Ancol, Rawabadak, Siantar, Kodamar, South Sunter, North Sunter, East Pluit, West Pluit, Central Pluit, and Pasar Ikan.

         North Jakarta alone has 35 water pumps, while Central Jakarta has 14 water pumping stations that accommodate 60 water pumps.

         Besides this, the office has also prepared 45 mobile water pumps that could be used whenever floods strike Jakarta.

         The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that the peak rainy season will start in December 2014 and will gradually increase until January 2015.

         Therefore, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has alerted the residents of Jakarta about possible flooding that may inundate the city in the third week of January 2015.

         "The floods in January 2014 were lighter than in January 2013. We hope it is much lighter in January 2015, but the people must be ready to face the worst," Deputy of BNPB's Emergency Management Tri Budiarto said on Nov 18, 2014.

         The BNPB has allocated Rp75 billion budget to handle floods and landslides in the country, including Rp12 billion for Jakarta. ***3***
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