Floodwaters originating from Bogor, which was hit by incessant heavy rains on Wednesday evening, also inundated parts of South Jakarta area.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The flash floods from Bogor, West Java, have forced 487 inhabitants of Kampung Pulo and Bidara Cina to evacuate to higher grounds, on Thursday morning.

Of the 487 evacuees, 430 were residents of Kampung Pulo and 57 of Bidara Cina, Bambang Musyawardana of the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) stated here on Thursday.

They sought refuge in the health office and mosques following floods that reached heights ranging between 30 centimeters and four meters in East Jakarta, he noted.

"Relief aid comprising food and medicines have been provided by the health office, and the BPBD is coordinating the relief efforts," he remarked.

Floodwaters originating from Bogor, which was hit by incessant heavy rains on Wednesday evening, also inundated parts of South Jakarta area, he affirmed.

Residential areas in Pancoran and Pasar Minggu were submerged in floodwaters that reached a height of up to a meter, stated Fahzi Lazuardi, also of the Jakarta BPBD.

In the meantime, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has warned Jakartans of possible flooding that may inundate the city in the third week of January 2015.

"The floods in January 2014 were lighter than in January 2013. We hope it is much lighter in January 2015, but the people must be ready to face the worst," Deputy of BNPBs Emergency Management, Tri Budiarto, reported here on Tuesday.

The massive floods that inundated Jakarta in 2007 are considered be the worst flooding disaster the city has ever faced. Bearing this in mind and anticipating the worst possible scenario, the BNPB had put in place mitigation measures to face the floods in the last rainy season.

"Given the worst-case scenario (we faced in 2007), we can handle the effects of floods in the light and medium scales, as well as the large ones," Budiarto affirmed.

From the BNPBs Rp75 billion budget to handle floods and landslides in the country, Rp12 billion is allocated for Jakarta alone as the city is annually hit by floods.

Furthermore, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that the peak rainy season will start in December 2014 and will gradually increase until January 2015. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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