Prepare a Boat Before It Rains
Residents around Lake Tempe in South Sulawesi have adapted to routine flooding. They build stilt houses, \'rakkiang\', bridges between houses, prepare boats and learn how to purify floodwater for their daily needs.
Residents around Lake Tempe in South Sulawesi have adapted to routine flooding. They build stilt houses, rakkiang, bridges between houses, prepare boats and learn how to purify floodwater for their daily needs.
The saying, “prepare an umbrella before it rains” translates to “prepare a boat before it rains” for residents around Lake Tempe. The lake began overflowing at the end of May. Until now, the area surrounding it is still flooded. During the peak of the flooding in June through July, the height of water could reach 3 meters.
Baharuddin Naja, 50, a resident in Laelo subdistrict, Tempe district, Wajo regency, stayed at his house, some 500 meters from Lake Tempe. Baharuddin’s house is a stilt house around 2 meters from the ground. The house became inundated when the flooding reached 3-meters-high. But Baharuddin was safe from water because he made one-meter high platform inside the house.
The platform inside the house is called rakkiang in the Buginese community group. The pillars are made from bamboo or logs and the floor from wood. Baharuddin and his family carry out activities on this rakkiang.
“When the water subdued, the rakkiang is taken down and the materials are stored. If the water rises and reaches 2 meters high inside the house, usually we start building rakkiang higher up to the ceiling level. That is why most houses here have no ceiling because the space could be a room to store our stuff,” he said on Thursday (12/7/2018).
Most houses around Lake Tempe face the west or east. “When we have to live on the rakkiang close to the metal roof, the wind from the east and west helps reduce the heat. We need only to open one or two roof,” he said.
Staying at home means Baharuddin and others need clean water.. With simple tools, they purify floodwater for their daily needs, including for consumption. The water is processed is by mixing the floodwater with aluminum sulphate. The half-clean water is then filtered with pebbles, charcoal and sand to get really clean and not smelly water.
The lake exposed to flood
Lake Tempe, which is located in the stream of the Bilawalanae River in South Sulawesi, experiences cyclical flooding and drought along the year. At present, the lake is in the period of flooding.
The natural process has become flooding because of sedimentation or spatial planning that uses the “temporary dry area” as residential area. Since 2009, Lake Tempe has become a national priority along with 14 other lakes. In the Lake Tempe Conservation Movement 2014 it was mentioned that the super priority program in the lake was formed from the Asia-Australia plate in dealing with sedimentation. “Lake Tempe is shallow. Sedimentation makes it even shallower and the water overflows,” said Fauzan Ali, head of Indonesia Institute of Sciences limnology center on Thursday in Jakarta.
Lake Tempe has a fluctuating size and depth. On dry season, the size of the lake is 10,000 hectare with a depth of 0.5-2 meters. On raining season, the size is 28,000-43,000 hectares with a depth of 6-9 meters.
Adaptation
Preserving stilt houses for people around Lake Tempe is part of the adaptation and anticipation of floods. In the area, flooding is an annual disaster. When it overflows, the water height can reach 30 centimeters to 3 meters. Flooding can last a week or two months just like happening now.
Aside from rakkiang, people try to minimize the impact through various measures. One of them is by preparing boats. Children are taught to swim since they are little and utilize simple stuff, such as jerry can, as lifebuoy.
Around Lake Tempe, almost all houses have boats as a mean of transportation. The simple wooden boat is 3-5 meters long and 0.5-1 meter wide. It is an important mode of transportation during flooding.
“I have a boat. During flooding, I use it as a daily transportation. If I do not use it, I offer it for rent. The rent fees depend on the distance or around Rp 5,000. If the water subdued, I use the boat to go fishing in the lake,” said Ambo Sennang, 51, a resident of Watanglipue subdistrict.
The disaster management around Lake Tempe is orderly and structured due to the people’s high awareness. As an example, residents build bridges with railing. The bridges connect houses. Thus, people can visit or help each other during emergency.
The bridges also connect houses with the main access for evacuation. During emergency situation, the bamboo bridges do not serve only as emergency access but also a sign of direction. When the pillars are inundated, the railing can serve as the guidance.
People also take role in monitoring the rising water, just like what Baharuddin did. When it rains and the water starts to rise, he contacts family in some other regencies to check the height of the rivers.
“We can estimate the speed of the rising water if the rain in our area occurs at the same time with the rain in other areas such as Sidrap and Soppeng. There are several tributaries in nearby areas in which the water goes to Lake Tempe. After getting the condition, we make calculation, for example, how long it takes for the water to rise 1 meter high. Then, we announce to the residents to start erecting the rakkiang and store their stuff or to evacuate,” he added.
The Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has also taken anticipatory measures by erecting emergency tents for the residents to evacuate. “We continue coordination with the residents anytime the water starts to rise. The team on the field would go around on boats and offer transportation for people who want to evacuate. That is why during a big flood, people need to stay calm,” said BPBD Wajo head Alamsyah.
The joint team of Basarnas, BPBD, social affairs agency, Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), Indonesian Military (TNI) and several other relevant agencies immediately set up a natural disaster post at Merdeka Square in the center of Sengkang city, the capital of Wajo. At the post, they identified the number of houses and facilities that had become inundated, the number of displaced people and their needs. Ambulances, inflatable boats and trucks are on the ready. From this post, the daily needs of the displaced people are distributed to the needy.
That is why even though the number of houses getting inundated stands at 14,000, the number of displaced people is only hundreds. So far, there have been no reports of people suffering from diseases such as diarrhea skin irritations. The anticipatory measures by the residents and the government could help minimize the impacts of flooding.
(ICHWAN SUSANTO)