We are now entering the rainy season and should be ready to face for the worst. And it did really come to happen on Monday, 25 October 2010 when heavy rains felt in Jakarta causing flooding everywhere. Big traffic jam which followed made Jakarta paralyzed and most people came home from their workplaces only by midnight.
The weather in this year seems bizarre since we have got rains almost every day for the whole year through. Was this weather disturbance caused by global warming? Well, we cross the finger that it was not true. The Jakarta residents experience the flooding almost annually but the worst condition happens cyclically every five years. High rainfall, accumulation of garbage, silting up rivers, poor drainage, and lack of soil absorption, are the causes of flooding in Jakarta. The rapid urbanization is also one of the factors which catalyze this poor condition.
Natural Causal Factors
As a city situated at the lower mainland, Jakarta is never free from the threat of flooding. During the Dutch colonial era floods inundated Jakarta many times although not as frequent as those happened today. Flood disaster in Jakarta was first recorded in 1621, albeit the construction of several canals to prevent flooding besides its function as transportation means imitating those of cities in the Netherlands.
One of the worst was a catastrophic flood in February 1918 when almost all areas in Jakarta were underwater. Learning from those experiences, the flood control systems were improved, such as Manggarai water gates. But it was not enough. Less than 20 years since the completion of the flood canal project, some areas of Batavia were again heavily flooded in 1930 and in 1932. These conditions arose because of the degradation of the upstream catchment areas, where the forest in the Puncak and the surrounding was converted into tea and rubber plantations because of the price hike happened in the 1930s.
To compensate that degrading impact, the construction of the west flood canal which started in 1920 was accelerated. After independence, the city government tried to complete the project but was bogged down for some years because it passed the highly populated regions.
Several efforts were carried out among others the construction of water reservoirs in 1965, Cengkareng Drainage System in 1983, east flood canal (EFC) in 2002. When the EFC is completed, at the end of 2010 (?), there will be greenery space along the canal banks with special lanes for jogging and bike-riders. We are afraid that such good planning will only become a daydreaming, as the city water transport in this canal which was in operation two years ago only lasted for six months.
Residents’ Bad Habit
Another factor which causes flooding is the community’s bad habit in throwing garbage to any flowing water, drains, rivers and canals. Most often waste from city residents living at the river bank are not gathered and people throw it indifferently into the river. Although the city employees regularly take out the garbage, the rivers are always full of solid waste as people preserve their bad habit.
But it would be not enough. The city government has, in addition, to treat all the areas along the river banks as green belt and greenery areas. The slum area at the river banks should be removed. Residents who live at the river banks must be enforced not throwing the waste into the river. The city government should issue a decree to fine those who violate the rule, while providing sufficient garbage disposals.
A campaign to change Jakarta residents' bad habit should be continuously launched. The rivers and canals in Jakarta should be free of waste and garbage. "Throwing the garbage into the river is as bad as throwing the garbage to the road!"
A campaign to change Jakarta residents' bad habit should be continuously launched. The rivers and canals in Jakarta should be free of waste and garbage. "Throwing the garbage into the river is as bad as throwing the garbage to the road!"
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