Edo Karensa Jakarta Globe 22 Apr 16;
Jakarta. Flood has hit around 5,000 homes and affected at least 9,000 residents in Jakarta’s satellite city, Bekasi, as heavy rains fell on Thursday morning (21/04), the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said.
Water started rushing into residential areas at 5.30 a.m. through broken embankments on the Bekasi River, mostly in the subdistricts of Jatiasih and Pondok Melati. The flood hit the densely populated housing estates of IKIP, Nasio Indah, Mustika Gandaria Setu, Lotus Chandra and Pondok Gede Permai.
BNPB reported various depths of inundation, from 30 centimeters to 5 meters.
“The residents have been evacuated to safe shelters. Around 500 homes are lightly damaged and the streets are inundated. No fatalities were recorded in this flood,” said BNPB spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Hundreds of BNPB, police and military personnel, as well as Search and Rescue Agency (SAR) workers have been deployed to help with evacuation using inflatable boats.
Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said his ministry and the Bekasi administration will soon build a 1.2-meter high embankment on the Bekasi River near Pondok Gede Permai, the worst affected housing complex.
The administration has allocated around Rp 5 billion ($380,000) this year to build river embankments in the area.
BNPB predicted heavy rains will continue over the weekend in nine provinces, including Jakarta, Banten and West Java. The rainy season is expected to end in May.
Bekasi residents trapped in homes as river bursts banks
Agnes Anya The Jakarta Post 22 Apr 16;
When the rains came: Water inundates a street in the Gunung Sahari area of Central Jakarta on Thursday. Parts of the city were submerged on Thursday after heavy rain fell the night before.(JP/Jerry Adiguna)
Residents of Bekasi, West Java, had difficulty going about their daily activities on Thursday morning after the Bekasi River burst its banks inundating several neighborhoods following an eight-hour downpour in the city.
Suriaman Moerdani Pandjaitan, a resident of Jati Bening, was unable to get to work as the first floor of his house was flooded from 5 a.m. until 1 p.m.
He initially thought that the flood was caused by the excessive rain, which poured on the city from 1 a.m. until 8 a.m. However, he later learned that the flooding, up to 3 meters in parts, was the result of a burst embankment.
“I was barely able to sleep once the rain began to pour. At 5 a.m., my mother told me that the water was coming inside my house,” Suriaman told The Jakarta Post.
“We immediately picked up important belongings, including our dogs, and rushed up to the second floor,” he added.
He called on the Bekasi administration to immediately fix the embankment in anticipation of further floods amid the heavy rains that have hit in the city in recent days.
Bekasi Mayor Rahmat Effendi said that he had ordered his officials to open a sluice gate on Jl. Mayor Hasibuan in South Bekasi to ease the flooding in the inundated areas.
He said details regarding the management of the embankment were actually the responsibility of the directorate general of water management at the public housing and public works ministry.
However, he added, he had to make a quick decision to prevent more severe flooding.
He wanted the Bogor administration to also keep him informed about water levels in upstream areas so Bekasi could decide whether to open or close the sluice gates.
“We want to manage the embankment with other officials as water from Bogor will reach Bekasi within six hours via the Cikeas and Cileungsi rivers,” Rahmat said as quoted by wartakotalive.com, adding that Thursday’s flooding was mostly caused by excess water from Bogor, rather than the local rain.
Burst dams and river banks are a frequent problem in Greater Jakarta. In 2013, a high volume of water caused the Ciliwung River broke its banks at Jl. Latuharhary following heavy downpours. The incident led to flooding in several major locations in the capital, including Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta, killing two people.
On March 27, 2009, the Situ Gintung Dam in South Tangerang, Banten, burst, sending a huge volume of water onto nearby neighborhoods, killing at least 99 people.
After this tragedy, Situ Gintung was left empty to prevent a recurrence.
Rains have poured over Greater Jakarta in the past few days causing incidents in several areas.
In Tangerang, Banten, a section of the roof in the Aeon Mall collapsed under the weight of water on Wednesday evening, injuring dozens of shoppers.
In South Jakarta, two teenagers, identified as Anggi, 14, and Siswanto, 17, were swept away by the heavily swollen Krukut River on Thursday morning. As of Thursday evening, the police and search and rescue (SAR) team were still searching for the youths.
Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) chief Andi Eka Sakya said that the heavy rain during Wednesday evening and Thursday morning was a result of a confluence of winds from southern Sumatra and western Java, which resulted in massive rain clouds forming.
He added that heavy rain was likely to continue in Greater Jakarta until Sunday.
Thousands flee their flooded homes in Karawang, West Java
Antara 23 Apr 16;
Karawang, W Java (ANTARA News) - Thousands of people fled their flooded homes in five villages in Karawang district, West Java, on Friday.
"The floods struck on Thursday (April 21). Some 1,053 residents or 438 families evacuated to higher ground after the flood water inundated their houses," secretary of the Karawang District Disaster Mitigation Board (BPBD) Supriatna said.
The evacuees hail from the five villages of Karangligar, Parungsari, Tanjungmekar, Karawang Kulon and Tanjungpura.
He said the floods hit hardest the Karangligar village where 187 houses were inundated and 606 residents evacuated to higher ground.
The flood inundated 25 houses at Parungsari village, forcing 68 residents to flee their flooded houses.
In Karawang Kulon village, 132 houses were flooded, forcing 227 residents to take refuge.(*)
