TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The head of data and information at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said that approximately 300,000 Jakartans will be affected by floods in 2015.
"Our projection is based on the population distribution map supplied by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), combined with detailed information prepared by regional disaster mitigation agencies (BPBD)," said Sutopo at a book launch on Thursday.
According to Sutopo, around 122,000 residents out of 300,000 affected Jakartans are expected to fill up 308 emergency shelters spread across the capital. "Potentially-affected residents live in 37 districts, 125 sub-districts, and 634 community units across Jakarta," he said.
Sutopo said that floods would remain inevitable as Jakarta's water absorbance capacity was still sub-par. "Fifty millimetres of precipitation is enough to cause widespread floodings across the capital," he said.
Among Jakarta's waterways that have been identified as most-prone to flooding by BPNB are Pesanggrahan, Ciliwung, and Angke rivers. BNPB estimated that floods in 2015 would cost the administration around Rp5 trillion in damages.
A number of improvement projects that are currently underway, which include the dredging of Jakarta's waterways, are expected to remain inadequate to mitigate the threats posed by the floods. "These projects will take some time to complete, and no significant reduction to flooding is expected until next year," said Sutopo.
YOLANDA RYAN ARMINDYA | SAID HELABY
