Mitigating the Floods Seriously

Entering 2020, Greater Jakarta has experienced alarming natural disasters. High rainfall in the late afternoon at the end of 2019 caused flooding in many locations.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Housing units are marketed in the Duren Village housing complex in Ciledug, Tangerang city, Banten, on Thursday (02/01/2020). A number of housing units that are being marketed in the area were flooded.

Some houses were not only flooded with water depth of more than 2 meters but also hit by heavy currents. A number of residential areas that have never been flooded before were also inundated. Toll roads also cannot escape from the raging flooding.

At least 169 locations in Greater Jakarta and Banten province were inundated and at least 60 people were killed and 173,050 others were displaced. Most of the areas affected by the flooding are located in West Java, with 97 locations (Bekasi regency 32 locations, Bekasi city 53 locations and Bogor regency 12 locations) and Jakarta with 63 locations. A number of areas in Lebak regency, Banten, were hit by flash floods and landslides, which forced 17,200 people to flee their homes.

The economic losses caused by the floods and landslides are, of course, very large. Starting from direct losses such as damages of houses, to losses of goods swept away by the floods, as well as the damages on physical infrastructure and social infrastructure, such as school buildings, houses of worship, and health centers.

Halim Perdanakusuma Airport was temporarily closed and all flights were diverted to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The flooding also caused traffic disruption. State electricity company PLN was even forced to turn off electricity in 724 locations in Jakarta. Various economic activities were disrupted. A number of factory workers were forced to take a day off.

Supplies of raw materials and delivery of finished products were also hampered. Wholesaling and retailing activities were also disrupted because the distribution of goods was stalled. Traders in traditional markets were confused because of the difficulty in getting supplies of goods, especially fresh vegetables and food commodities.

Read more :Strategic Trade Policy

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Traders sort out flood-soaked merchandise in the basement of the Jatinegara Trade Center (Jatinegara Mester), East Jakarta, on Thursday (02/01/2020). Traders complained about the slowness of market management to pump water from the basement.

As a result, due to lack of food supplies, prices at markets rose significantly.

In fact, the rainfall during January-March 2020 is estimated to be still high. In the future, the revitalization of traditional markets must be able to respond to this problem, for example by equipping markets with refrigerated warehouses to store fresh food commodities. It is needed because the food commodities have a large contribution and have a rapid domino effect on inflation.

Therefore, a strong and accurate mitigation program should be implemented to reduce the potential of food inflation. Moreover, in addition to the food inflation pressures triggered by floods, there is also the potential for crop failure due to high rainfall.

Such an illustration is reminiscent of the saying "building seems easier than maintaining and caring for it". The acceleration of infrastructure development that is not based on a careful planning, let alone ignoring environmental aspects, often results in damage to the infrastructure facilities in an instant. The development that violates the spatial layout will certainly destroy the balance of the ecosystem.

The food commodities have a large contribution and have a rapid domino effect on inflation.

Geologically, Jakarta and its surroundings in the lowlands are on average only 7 meters above sea level. With such as condition, proper spatial planning is needed. Ideally, the southern part, which is quite high, can be turned into a green space and water catchment area. While in the northern part, there should be a large reservoir to store water and in the middle areas, water channels should be ensured to be able to accommodate the water flow.

However, due to the conversion of land into residential and commercial areas, many areas initially allocated for water catchment have become housing complexes and modern commercial centers. In addition to the complicated problems in the downstream areas, in the upstream areas there has been massive land conversion, such as in the Puncak mountainous areas.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

A number of students cross an emergency bridge over the Cidurian River in Kampung Ciasahan, Sukamaju village, Cigudeg, Bogor regency, West Java, to go to school on Monday (6/1/2020) after the new year holidays. The emergency bridge, made of bamboo by locals, is the only access for them to get out of their area to reach nearby villages. The main bridge of this village was washed away by flash floods caused by landslides on Wednesday (1/1/2020). Although access to this location is quite easy, the government has not yet assumed responsibility over the emergency bridge.

Therefore, the handling of the flood problems in Greater Jakarta cannot be done partially.

There should be serious discussion about flood risk mitigation and the handling of the impact of disasters between relevant ministries and institutions in the future, regardless of whether Jakarta is still the capital city.

At present, disaster mitigation is handled by number of ministries and institutions, including the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), local administrations and the Social Affairs Ministry. In fact, disaster mitigation is not just related to an effort to rescue or evacuate affected residents.

The mitigation efforts should prevent potential disasters and reduce the risk of losses due to the natural disaster, both economic losses and losses of life. The government must provide clarity over disaster mitigation authority in Indonesia. Each ministry and agency must have clear and concrete duties.

Ideally, there should be an institution that specifically and seriously takes cares of disaster mitigation. The function of the BNPB, as its name suggests, should be optimized and focused on disaster mitigation as its main duty.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Enny Sri Hartati

Programs and budgets related to disaster can be coordinated and synergized. There should be also clarity on budget allocation and authorities of the agencies involved. However, the flooding does not only cause an economic loss, as it also claims the lives of so many people.

The calculation of economic losses should also take into account direct and indirect losses. If the flooding problem in Greater Jakarta does not get a fundamental solution, it will automatically result in a greater environmental and humanitarian threats. Even though Jakarta will be no longer the national capital, resolving the Jakarta floods must remain the common commitment of all people.