A Dozens of Hour Floods In Pejaten, Deputy Governor Of DKI: Differentiate Between Inundation And Flash Flood

JAKARTA - The floods in Pejaten Timur, South Jakarta lasted dozens of hours even though the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan once stated that the floods should recede within 6 hours.

Deputy Governor of DKI, Ahmad Riza Patria, said that Anies meant that the flood had to recede within 6 hours from the inundation. Riza said there was a difference between flood and inundation.

"So, it must be distinguished that flooding is caused by inundation which is only a puddle, or flooding which is caused by a flash flood. The one in East Pejaten is a flood caused by the flow of water coming from Katulampa, which is from another area, a neighboring area entering Jakarta", said Riza, Monday, February 8.

According to Riza, there is an increase in rainfall outside Jakarta so that the water level in the river increases.

"And indeed it occurs because it is on the edge of a river or riverbank and the area is low. As we know, Jakarta as the capital city is a lowland below sea level, so there are areas that happen to be flowed by rivers, overflowing so that they are inundated", he continued.

However, Riza is trying to ensure that other inundations recede within a maximum of 6 hours. This is in line with the DKI governor's instructions.

"But for the other puddles, Alhamdulillah, as instructed by the governor, it should not be longer than 6 hours. Yesterday there was an increase and it also increased by only 3 hours, only 2 hours, only one hour. But indeed if there are those on the banks of the river it is different, it does need more comprehensive handling", he said.

According to Riza, this comprehensive handling includes land acquisition, construction of embankments. This handling takes time, he continued.

"But what we are dealing with now in the short term is how to make the inundation go down quickly and thank God that in a matter of hours it can go down quickly", he continued.