Team says it takes a city to fight floods

Ikram Putra and Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Depok

A special flood mitigation team says the community has a major role to play in lessening the impact of flooding in the city.

"People must learn where they should keep their valuables, or where they should evacuate when flooding does occur," the institutional communications specialist of the Netherlands-based Jakarta Flood Team, Darismanto, said Thursday.

"People need to play an active role in mitigating floods. They must also know children's safety comes first before they save others," he said.

The team met with administration officials at City Hall to discuss strategies for curbing flood risks.

An engineer with the team, R. Van Nes, said the administration needed to work on getting out early flood warnings to residents.

"The administration should tell the people to prepare medicines, drinks and clean water in advance," he said. "They may already know about this but we need to remind them."

He also warned of future tides higher than the ones on Nov. 26 that resulted in major flooding in North Jakarta.

Jakarta's crisis center also warned that Penjaringan and Pluit subdistricts in North Jakarta would be threatened by high tides between Dec. 8 and 12, and Dec. 20 and 25.

The administration can also help reduce the impact of floods by revitalizing water catchment areas and waterways in the city, said Van Nes.

The administration, he said, can simply clean the rivers of waste to restore their functions.

"Such efforts may overcome half of the flood problems," he said.

He said the administration should also cooperate with neighboring administrations in Greater Jakarta and with the central government.

Governor Fauzi Bowo has met with the governor of neighboring Banten, Ratu Atut Chosiyah, to try and put together a plan on revitalizing water catchment areas along the border between the two provinces.

The Jakarta administration granted Banten Rp 5 billion (US$537.63 million) for the joint plan.

Fauzi also has met with Depok Mayor Nur Mahmudi Ismail to assemble a team tasked with tackling a number of common issues, including floods.

"The team will give suggestions on issues involving both administrations," Fauzi said Wednesday.

He said both Depok and Jakarta faced similar issues like floods and traffic congestion that needed to be addressed through cooperation between the administrations.

"I've learned Depok has numerous water catchment areas that could help us mitigated floods in Jakarta," said Fauzi.

"It would be great, I can say, if we could make the water heading to Jakarta run slower."

Mayor Nur said his administration had asked for Rp 300 billion from the central government to revitalize 30 man-made lakes in Depok.

"We're also planning to build a small dam on Ciliwung River to catch more water. But the available budget will depend on the central government," he said.

Located 70 meters above sea level, Depok is the last gateway for the Ciliwung River before its water enters Jakarta through the Pesanggrahan River.