Foreseeable Floods

Monsoon rains aren’t new in Jakarta. But with at least 50 people dead and more than 340,000 forced to flee their homes, this year’s flooding is the worst in recent memory—and blame is falling on the city government for failing to make infrastructure fixes that might have prevented the devastation. Waterways like central Jakarta’s Ciliwung River routinely overflow in heavy rains, despite government pledges to clean them up. Work on a floodwater canal in East Jakarta has dragged as residents complain about poor land compensation. And unchecked development is eroding green areas critical to absorbing rainfall: a former catchment area in Kemang, South Jakarta, now an expat enclave, saw its worst flooding in years last week. “If there is no change in policy, the problem is clearly going to get worse,” says Marco Kusumawijaya, an independent city-planning consultant. “The people cannot wait that long.”

Jakarta’s governor, Sutiyoso, has blamed the destruction on cyclical weather patterns and drainage problems in neighboring Bogor, which he says he is powerless to control. “There is no point in throwing abuse around,” he told a local radio station. Meanwhile, with elections scheduled for next year, the fear in Jakarta is that the buck will simply be passed to the next administration. “Whoever [the next governor] is needs to make flood management and prevention a priority,” says political columnist Bara Hasibuan. Otherwise, when rains return to Jakarta, the water will only rise higher.