"In recent days, it has been raining fairly high in Jakarta. The heavy rainfall kept causing inundation," the province's regional secretary, Joko Agus Setyono, stated here on Thursday.
However, based on data from the Jakarta Water Resources Agency (SDA), the number of flooded points had reduced, he said.
Setyono, who visited the Manggarai Floodgate, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday, stated that the number of flooded areas in Jakarta had significantly decreased, with only two neighborhood units (RTs) inundated, as compared to 105 flooded RTs on Monday (February 27).
"We see that it has been raining every day for the last 10 days, but the (water surface level) condition of Manggarai Floodgate remains below normal. This means that the flood mitigation program has been successful," he explained.
According to Setyono, the provincial government has been prioritizing the successful handling of floods in Jakarta.
He explained that one of the ways to handle floods is cleaning water channels to ease the flow of rainwater and implementing the benchmark that floodwaters must recede within six hours.
The provincial government also continues to normalize the Ciliwung River and dredge mud from rivers to increase their water-holding capacity during the high rainfall season.
Hence, Setyono expressed the belief that flood problems in Jakarta can be addressed properly.
"Currently, there are almost no other areas in Jakarta that are flooded during heavy rains. Even if there is inundation, the floodwaters will quickly recede again," he stated.
Setyono noted that the agility in flood mitigation efforts is apparent from the completion of follow up on the community's reports of inundation that reached 95.1 percent in February.
Setyono emphasized that the provincial government's success in overcoming flood problems is supported by the community's participation of not throwing waste into rivers or waterways.
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Translator: Ricky P, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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