Jakarta Floods; Jakarta Govt Asked to Provide Proper Shelters

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) deputy chairperson, Zita Anjani, asked the city administration to provide proper shelters for residents affected by the Jakarta floods.

“One of the impacts of the flood is displacement because residents' houses are submerged in floodwater. They have to be evacuated to a proper place. It is the duty of the Provincial Government to prepare it,” said Zita in a written statement on Monday, February 8.

According to her, proper evacuation posts were necessary given the Covid-19 pandemic condition. She suggested Jakarta set up a shelter for each family.

“At the end of last year, if I'm not mistaken, the provincial government said it would prepare an evacuation site for a family or one room per family. If I heard it right, it was at the hotel,” she added.

However, Zita saw that many residents fled to school buildings, mosques, shop houses, and urban village buildings. She was concerned it could create dangers, namely the new Covid-19 infection cluster up to transmission of other diseases.

The Jakarta Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported that 150 neighboring units or RT in 42 Community Units or RW were flooded on Monday, February 8. “The percentage is 0.492 percent of the total 30,470 RT in Jakarta,” said the Jakarta BPBD acting head Sabdo Kurnianto in a written statement.

According to him, the overflow of the Sunter River and Ciliwung River was attributable to heavy downpours in the upstream, leading to Jakarta floods.

Also Read: BPBD Jakarta Preps Double Number of Flood Evacuation Sites

CAESAR AKBAR | IMAM HAMDI