The area that I live in within South Jakarta is known as a fashionable zone with many wealthy Indonesians as my neighbours. Normally a quiet area zoned of by “Portals” (Security Barriers) it is easy to ignore the happenings even 100 yards away with only the birds singing and the overhead thunderstorms to break the tranquillity.
The rain we receive is shared by many not so fortunate, and yesterday, a little less than three kilometres away the same rain that I complain about dripping into my house at times caused a catastrophe which, as is so often the case here may have been avoided.
The area I live in is in red, the blue spot represents the dam and the blue line shows the kampungs location.
In Cireundeu, a kampong (village area) only a 10 minute drive away, a 40ft dam which was used to create the artificial lake almost 80 years ago gave way.
The rain on Thursday evening was, as has been normal for the past week torrential.
Nothing unusual, not even worthy of note as everyone is so used to it, however, this storm was to create a larger puddle than accumulates on my living room floor.
The basin’s I use to contain the drips would have been no help to the inhabitants of Cireundeu as the mud built barrier over the reservoir gave way killing (as of current news reports) almost 70 people.
The area is tropical, mostly unspoiled (until now that is) with the lake being used by the International Sports Club of Indonesia for sailing activities, locals use a nearby fish pond for competitions and vendors congregate in the shadow of the dam to sell food, drinks and fresh fruits, beancurd cakes and, in general, enjoy the normal “day to dayness” of kampung life.
At 2am on Friday morning 2 million cubic meters (70 million cubic feet) of water in a wave 6 metres (20ft) high raged through this quiet village and instantly enveloped around four hundred houses, cars were swept away, bodies of those who had been quietly sleeping were swept tree or four kilometers and the reddish brown mud of Indonesia took hold under the flood waters and held others trapped while they drowned.
It now appears that this latest tragedy was totally avoidable, although, as usual, the response from those in charge describe the disaster as natural due to the amount of rain that fell.
The Australian ABC Networks reporter Geoff Thompson is a busy man, he always appears to be in the thick of things and he was able to get an interview this morning with the Crisis response representative which once again displays the “head in the sand” approach to such occurrences within Indonesia.
GEOFF THOMPSON: Is it an issue of maintenance or are there not being enough repairs on the dam wall?
RUSTAM PAKAYA: No, no. This is a natural, natural…
GEOFF THOMPSON: A natural disaster?
RUSTAM PAKAYA: Yes, natural disaster.
GEOFF THOMPSON: What is the thinking about why this happened though? I mean, it was lots of rain, but why did the dam wall break?
RUSTAM PAKAYA: Oh, I have no comment about this.
GEOFF THOMPSON: At the disaster site yesterday, grown men who have always lived alongside the lake told us that never in their lives had the walls of the dam been maintained or repaired.
RUSTAM PAKAYA: No, no. This is a natural, natural…
GEOFF THOMPSON: A natural disaster?
RUSTAM PAKAYA: Yes, natural disaster.
GEOFF THOMPSON: What is the thinking about why this happened though? I mean, it was lots of rain, but why did the dam wall break?
RUSTAM PAKAYA: Oh, I have no comment about this.
GEOFF THOMPSON: At the disaster site yesterday, grown men who have always lived alongside the lake told us that never in their lives had the walls of the dam been maintained or repaired.
I am sorry, natural disaster my arse, my heart goes out to those who have suffered and there is little in terms of real help that I as an individual can offer apart from fresh water, blankets and packs of instant noodles.
However, the lesson here is again clear, nothing gets done until after the event.
Yesterday, the governor of Jakarta said he had ordered an inspection of all dams in Jakarta.
“I have ordered the Public Works Agency to check and recheck the dams and all flood mitigation facilities and infrastructure in Jakarta,” Fauzi Bowo said.
“The incident in Situ Gintung was probably due to a lack of routine inspections,” he said.
These routine inspections are always retrospective, and inevitably, it takes the loss of life to instigate them. I hope, no, pray, that someone within the local government and indeed provincial governments elsewhere in the country consider where the hazards to life lie within the towns and cities and start inspecting, possibly even repairing these hazards before the next catastrophe.
Pictures from AFP via BBC News
Video Link here:
Appreciate the write up. I also read some news that Kalla and Bakrie came sniffing around as well. And Fuzzy Bodo is an idiot to put it bluntly. As far as I am concerned he has blood on his hands. Jakarta deserves way better than what it gets from these guys.
ReplyDeleteWhenever this Rustam guy speaks honestly, you will expect that he starts to count his position in the office and lost credibility in his bosses eyes.
ReplyDeleteBetter lie to a foreign journalist than lose his seat. It's about living insurance, not good governance. You've been told.
How’s Bakrie got the balls to turn up at a disaster like this! The sheer bloody arrogance of these so called ministers is mind boggling, anything for photo shoot, I wonder what the caption would be "The Caring Face Of Aburizal Bakrie.
ReplyDeleteBtw. my word verification: boamle, Blame Me?? Kind of apt for both Sooty and Bodoh.
did u know there was a caleg who said that the 'natural disaster' in situ gintung is well deserved by its inhabitants because it is a 'tempat maksiat' and the guilty will face Allah's wrath?
ReplyDelete