Mr. President has instructed us to make an immediate endeavor to restore the road access to the isolated villages so that humanitarian aid packages can be distributed to those in need thereJakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) ordered the Indonesian military (TNI), related ministry, and National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Sunday to restore an access road to Sukajaya Village, Bogor District, West Java, being crippled by a landslide.
He conveyed his order to TNI Commander Air Chief Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, and BNPB Head Doni Monardo when conducting an aerial observation on Sunday to find out the real condition of the isolated villages.
"Mr. President has instructed us to make an immediate endeavor to restore the road access to the isolated villages so that humanitarian aid packages can be distributed to those in need there," Doni Monardo said.
President Jokowi and his entourage departed for observing the real condition of Sukajaya Village by three helicopters from the Atang Sendjaja Airbase in Bogor District on Sunday at 8:15 a.m. local time.
The helicopters also carried humanitarian aid packages for the villagers severely suffering the impacts of the flooding and landslide that had made their villages get isolated.
In another development, on Sunday morning, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan worked hand in hand with the residents of Kampung Makassar in East Jakarta to clean their neighborhood area after the floodwater inundating the suburban area receded.
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.
The flooding swamped a wide range of areas in various sub-districts in the provinces of Jakarta, West Jakarta, and Banten, the BNPB'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.
The catastrophe had also killed at least 60 people, and caused two others to go missing, Wibowo said.
Translator: Joko S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
