JAKARTA BRACES FOR FLOODS PREDICTED TO PEAK IN FEBRUARY by Fardah

    Jakarta, Jan 27, 2015 (Antara) - The Jakarta authorities have been working hard to make sure it is ready to handle floods forecast to occur during the peak of the rainy season in February 2015.

        Serious preparations are crucial because Jakarta is notorious for flooding during rainy season. The capital city  having population of some 10 million, is often paralyzed by floods.

       "We have made various preparations, such as the recovery of water pumps, and strengthening of river embankments on the northern coast, including in Kelapa Gading and Sunter," Saefullah, the
Jakarta administration secretary, stated on Jan 27, 2015.

        Three water pumps in Kampung Bandan and Rawa Badak are now being repaired and expected to become operational within the next two or three days.

        "In addition to the three pumps, we are also fixing the water pumps in other areas, from Pluit to Marunda. At the same time, we also repaired the embankments," he noted.

         The authorities will also raze down illegal houses located along the river basin areas in order to widen them to 8-12 meters.

        "Currently, the width of the river basin is only 2 meters, or up to four meters, as most of the areas are illegally occupied by some people. Therefore, we need to put it in order again," Saefullah stated.

         Indonesia has been experiencing rains since last November 2014, but so far no major flooding hit Jakarta this year.
    In January 2014, when the season reached its peak, floods claimed 23 lives, displaced tens of thousands of people in Jakarta.

         In 2013, Jakarta had suffered material losses worth Rp20 trillion, or US$2 billion, as a result of floods.

         The floods in 2007, which had been among the worst that had submerged Jakarta and suburban areas, had claimed more than 80 lives.

         On Friday, January 23, floods affected 36 locations in Jakarta following incessant rains since Thursday.

         "The water levels in the rivers are safe, but 36 locations were inundated," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), stated.

         He said the water volume of Ciliwung, Karet, Krukut, Pesanggrahan, Angke, Cipinang, and Sunter rivers was normal despite the rains and flooding.

         However, parts of the capital city were inundated due to the poor drainage system, he remarked.

         The Jakarta disaster mitigation office reported that North Jakarta had flooding in 25 locations, three locations each in East Jakarta and South Jakarta, four in West Jakarta, and one in Central Jakarta.
    "The floodwater ranged from 10 to 100 centimeters deep," BPBD spokesman Bambang Suryaputra said.

         The worst flooding, he said, occurred in North Jakarta's Rawa Binangun in Rawa Badak Utara, as floodwater reached 1m in depth. Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta was also hit by a 1m-deep flood.

         Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, alias Ahok, believed that sabotage caused flooding in the capital city on that day.

        "Several days ago, there were heavy rains, but no flooding.   But, on Friday, there was a report about flooding in 36 locations.    I suspect sabotage because I saw that the water level in Katulampa was safe, the sea level was normal, and the pump houses were still functioning. The pump houses and sluice gates are monitored by CCTV cameras to prevent any wrongdoing," Ahok noted on January 26, 2015.

         After investigation, it was found that North Jakarta was flooded due to a hole in Sunter River's embankment in front of the Mal Artha Gading shopping center. The hole was deliberately made by
a contractor to allow the entry of heavy vehicles.

         "This is sabotage. They said the embankment was uprooted, so heavy equipment could enter to dredge the mud from the bottom of the river," he added.    
    The dredging of the river was carried out by a contractor under the supervision of Ciliwung-Cisadane River management office of the public works and public housing ministry, remarked Ahok.

         Creating a hole in the embankment during the rainy season was a careless thing to do, Ahok noted.

         "I will report to the ministry that their contractor is not credible," the governor stated, urging the ministry to sanction the contractor.

          In the meantime, the disaster management agency has warned the Jakarta inhabitants to brace for flooding.

         "The rain intensity in Jakarta area will continue to increase in line with the pattern, namely from late January until the middle of February," said BNBP spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho recently.

         He, however, quoted a weather forcast that rainfall this time will likely be less heavy than last year, when many parts of the city were inundated for several days, displacing some 17,000 people in November 2014.

         Early this year, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the BPBN have set up a number of flood-alert command posts throughout the capital city and suburban areas.

         The PMI has set up 15 command posts to anticipate floods in Jakarta, Bogor, Tanggerang, Depok and Bekasi (Jabodetabek).

         The command post was operating for 24 hours to serve flood victims, Arifin M Hadi, the head of the PMI's disaster mitigation division, said in Jakarta, recently.

         The Red Cross has prepared rubber boats for evacuation,  public kitchens and medical health posts for flood victims.    A number of volunteers have also been ready to help flood victims.

 Meanwhile, Nugroho of BNPB said as many as 16 command posts have been built in Jakarta.

        "These are among the 28 posts we are planning to set up," he noted.

         The flood alert command posts are being built to mitigate the threat of floods predicted to happen in January and February.

         BNPB earlier said 99 percent of the natural disasters hitting Indonesia in 2014 were hydro-meteorological in nature -- floods, landslides, and whirlwinds.

         The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) recently released data showing that 496 instances of whirlwinds, 458 floods, and 413 landslides affected Indonesia last year.

         The disasters claimed the lives of 355 people and forced 1.7 million to be evacuated. They also left 25,000 destructed houses in their wake.

         Currently, a number of provinces are experiencing flooding and landslides since the rainy season peaks between January and February.      
    "As predicted earlier, floods will continue to intensify as we enter January. Rainy season in January has the potential to trigger floods and landslides," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman of BNPB, said on Jan. 14.

         The National Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that very high-intensity rains can occur potentially in January and February 2015, in Central Java's northern coastal areas, western, and southern Banten, Aceh, South Sulawesi, Gorontalo, North Sulawesi, Papua and West Papua. ***4***
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