To anticipate the flooding, all waterways, 'embung' (artificial lakes), and water catchments need to be cleaned up.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - A senior lawmaker has warned the Jakarta Water Resource Management Agency to brace for potential flooding in some parts of Jakarta during the rainy season.

"To anticipate the flooding, all waterways, 'embung' (artificial lakes), and water catchments need to be cleaned up," head of Commission D of the Jakarta legislative body, Ida Mahmudah, said here on Friday.

By doing so prior to the start of the rainy season, all 'embung' and water catchments will be able to store reserve water optimally, she explained.

In addition, all heads of sub-districts across Jakarta must push the authorities of community and neighborhood units to start cleaning up their respective areas, she said.

With the spirit of "gotong royong" (mutual cooperation), those living in Jakarta's densely-populated villages are requested to help clean up ditches and 13 rivers around the metropolitan city, Mahmudah added.

The Jakarta legislative body's Commission D overseeing development is supporting the Jakarta administration's flooding prevention and mitigation efforts.

The commission has agreed to allocate more than Rp2 trillion to the provincial government's 2024 budget, she informed.

ANTARA reported earlier that despite the absence of major floods in Jakarta in 2022, certain areas were still inundated following minor flooding.

According to the Jakarta Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency's Data and Information Center, last year, flooding was reported in 29 neighborhood units (RT) out of the 30,470 neighborhood units in the province.

The agency reported that flooding occurred in 3 regions in East and South Jakarta.

One flood was caused by River Ciliwung breaching its banks. It inundated 28 neighborhood units in East Jakarta, comprising 9 RTs in Cawang region and 19 RTs in Kampung Melayu region.

Another neighborhood unit in Rawajati region, South Jakarta, also experienced flooding due to the overflowing of River Ciliwung.

Despite the floodwaters of varying depths (50–130 centimeters) being recorded in the inundated neighborhood units, none of the residents relocated away from their dwellings.

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) earlier forecast the start of the rainy season in 10 percent of the country's regions at the end of October 2023.

The agency predicted "slight and moderate rains" in the regions, including in a majority of areas in Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, West Sumatra, and Bengkulu.

Certain parts of West Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, Maluku, West Papua, and Papua were also predicted to start experiencing the rainy season at the end of October, according to the BMKG.

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Translator: LM Putri, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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