He was accompanied by East Jakarta Mayor M.Anwar, Secretary of the Jakarta Provincial Administration Saefullah, and East Jakarta Police Sen.Coms.Arie Ardhian when joining the Karya Bakti" or "working together" program, held from 07.30 to 11.00 a.m. local time.
Anies kept working with local residents and members of the military, police, and various agencies to clean a muddy road section near an Islamic school and an outdoor volleyball court though the rain was showering the suburban area.
They lifted the wreckage of damaged goods and mud, and put them into sand bags. Owing to his commitment to finishing his work, Anies politely refused an offer of having a bottled water, saying that he wanted to continue working.
The Jakarta provincial administration noted that 15 percent of the capital city's areas were swamped by this early January's flash floods.
In helping ease the burden of those suffering from the impacts of this catastrophe, Anies Baswedan appealed to all Jakartans to conduct a simultaneous "working together" activity to clean their respective neighborhood areas after the floodwater receded.
In certain parts of Jakarta and its greater areas, the floodwater had begun receding. According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), this early January's flash floods and landslides had killed 60 people and caused two others to go missing.
The flooding swamped a wide range of areas in various sub-districts in the provinces of Jakarta, West Jakarta, and Banten, the agency's spokesman, Agus Wibowo, noted in a press statement.
The flash floods, caused by high-intensity rainfall over the past three days, swamped several areas of 18 sub-districts in Bekasi District, 17 sub-districts in Jakarta, and 13 sub-districts in Bogor District and Tangerang City respectively.
The disaster also affected 12 sub-districts in Bekasi City, 11 sub-districts in Depok City, and six sub-districts in Lebak District, Bogor City, and Tangerang Selatan City respectively, Wibowo stated.
Consequently, floodwaters, submerging houses, led to the forced displacement of 149,537 residents of Bekasi City in West Java Province. They were accommodated at 97 temporary shelters, while 11,474 Jakartans also took refuge and stayed at 66 temporary shelters.
Related news: Command post confirms 31,232 Jakarta residents fled inundated homes
Related news: Severe flooding in Greater Jakarta reportedly claims 16 lives
Translator: Ricky P, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
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