The Jakarta Globe, Arientha Primanita, March 28, 2009
Situ Gintung dam burst its banks near Jakarta, sending waves of muddy water laden with debris crashing into a suburb of the Indonesian capital. (BBC)
The governor of Jakarta said on Friday that following the Situ Gintung disaster 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.
Fauzi said that he sent his condolences to families of victims and that he regretted the disaster in the Cirendeu area of Tangerang, west of Jakarta.
He said the capital had set up shelters at Muhammadiyah University Jakarta and Ahmad Dahlan University in Ciputat, Banten Province, to accommodate people whose houses had been swept away or flooded by the burst dam.
Public health worker Effendy Anas said that in addition to providing medical aid the city sent six ambulances to help evacuate victims to Fatmawati Hospital in South Jakarta.
Budi Widiantoro, head of Jakarta’s Public Works Agency, said he had received the new instructions to check embankments in Jakarta and would take preventive steps if any weaknesses in structural integrity were found.
Budi said that while the Situ Gintung dam is in Banten Province, on the outskirts of Jakarta, it holds special significance for Indonesia’s largest city.
“It has the potential to hold back water to keep Jakarta from flooding,” he said, “but it can cause floods in Jakarta if it is overrun, as is happening now.”
He said the dam is directly linked to the Pesanggrahan River that runs through the Cirendeu area on its way to Jakarta areas like Tanah Kusir, Ulujami and Cipulir.
Fahrurozi, head of the water resources division of the Public Works Agency, said that embankment berms in Jakarta were in relatively in good condition. Of 26 dams in Jakarta, he said, six had completed berms, including Situ Babakan, Mangga Bolong and Situ Rawa Dongkel.
Fahrurozi said that at each dam there are officials who monitor water levels and infrastructural integrity.
“If they find something is wrong, they should report it to the agency as soon as possible to prevent breaches from happening,” Fahrurozi said.
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