Flooding 2013

When I arrived in 2007 into Indonesia, the city of Jakarta suffered its worst flooding for 5 years with some parts of the city 4 meters deep in river, sea and sewage water. Living in the west of the city near the airport made it near impossible to get into the city however also being new to the city I knew very little of it anyway, Jaksa, Senayan, Grogol and that was about it. So yes the floods were a disaster but never really affected me.

Due to its geographical location, Jakarta has basically been built on marsh and swamp or reclaimed land from the sea. There are 13 rivers which pour through the city all being fed from the hills and mountains in Puncak, through the over populated city of Bogor then into the urban sprawl of Greater Jakarta, through the city and then into the sea. However with the urbanisation of flood plain, river banks, lack of planning, drainage, control, rules, care etc this has meant that the city now floods into a great big mess resulting financial and personal loss and the further disruptment of already disrupted people.

However, like 2007, this year I missed the majority of the flooding because happily enough as the rain was coming down in buckets I was heading to the hills and a conference in Bogor so, all I got to see was the new paper reports and pictures and the wife telling me the roof was leaking in the house.

For many alas, it has not been so simple. The city to the west (where I used to live) is still under water as it is in the north.

The map below gives a good idea of the size of the floods, use the zoom key to explore it better

Some one once told me it was wise to live on a hill, not at the very bottom but on a hill nevertheless as you will never experience flooding. And so I have always done that. Saturday I moved house and I moved again to a street on a decline into a small river so there is no chance of flooding, plus my drive or car port at its very highest is at least 80cm higher than road.

The floods here have been terrible for rich and poor and I do feel sorry for almost everyone, except this perso below n in his car. A roller here can cost over a $1 million USD more than 95% of all Indonesians will earn in their entire lives, so driving it through the floods and then getting stuck, what were you thinking?serves you right. The driver even had a policeman to help get him out of trouble.

These people above however show how the rest of the affected had to deal with getting to safety. I am sure the girl is being helped by an emergency rescuer. Good for you. And I hope they get the help they need. 

That said. Since I have arrived back in the city on Friday, the trains have begun to run again, the Transjakarta busway is running almost normally with the exception of a couple of routes and where I am the city is hot and dry. I hope the last few days is the only very bad rain the city gets. But as it has not stopped raining in Puncak behind Bogor for over a week, the rivers will continue to be full and the chances of it all going away are limited for the next few days to say the least.

Some links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Jakarta_Flood

http://www.google.org/intl/en/crisisresponse/2013-jakarta-flood.html

http://www.thejakartapost.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21055978