Large swathes of greater Jakarta ground to a halt yesterday after the heaviest rain in at least five years left many areas of the Indonesian capital several metres underwater.
Experts blamed woefully inadequate infrastructure and unregulated development for the crisis. Economists warned distribution difficulties could trigger inflationary pressures if meteorologists’ forecasts of prolonged downpours prove correct.
Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes or were trapped in their neighbourhoods after two days of torrential rain.
Water in the worst affected areas was four metres deep while the Krukut river passing the Karet floodgate in West Jakarta rose from its normal 4.4m depth to 7.3m. No casualties were reported but 1,500 schools were flooded, many areas lost power and horse-drawn buggies, pedicabs and other non-motorised transport became eagerly sought after.
“The water is waist deep. It rose in 30 minutes, so fast!” said Indriena Basarah from the Kemang district of South Jakarta. “We fled with just the clothes on our backs and the dogs.”
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Friday after visiting some of the flooded areas that it was clear there needed to be better cooperation between Jakarta and the surrounding areas and the central and local governments. ”If this doesn’t happen, situations like this will occur every year,” he said.
The rain eased by mid-afternoon but the flooding did not subside much.
David Hawes, an infrastructure adviser to the Indonesian government, said poor policy coordination between central and local government agencies and run-off and deforestation triggered by unregulated building in Jakarta’s water catchment area south of the city are the main causes of the flooding.
“The need for a flood canal to the east of the city, for example, has been recognised for decades but it is constantly delayed by issues such as arguments over whether it is a national or local project,” he said.
Many areas of North Jakarta, which borders the Java Sea, have become more prone to flooding in recent years because of subsidence triggered by a lowering of the water table.
Mr Hawes predicted that even if politicians can decide on a development plan, Jakarta is going to endure floods for years. “The situation’s going to get worse before it gets better because of the disruption during construction,” he said.
Fauzi Ichsan, Standard Chartered Bank’s lead economist in Indonesia, fears prolonged rains could put upward pressure on inflation, which was 1.04 per cent in January. “At present the distribution difficulties are temporary but if the rain continues then inadequate infrastructure will cause more permanent food price rises,” he said.
The floods will also do little for investor confidence, he warned. “It shows how underdeveloped Indonesia is. It’s just one more reason to ignore Indonesia until the infrastructure issue is sorted out,” he said.
The government estimates it needs to spend $6bn a year on infrastructure for the next four years to sustain current growth levels. None of the first tranche of projects is likely to ease the capital’s propensity to flood.
