Reinforcing Disaster Management Policies

With more bad weather forecast for next week, floods and landslides are predicted to recur. Anticipatory action by all relevant parties and comprehensive policies are needed to deal with the disasters.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

An aerial photo of the floods that inundated residential complexes of Perum Pondok Mitra Lestari (left) and Kemang Pratama (right), Bekasi, West Java, Thursday (2/01/2020).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Government policies in the Greater Jakarta area to deal with floods have weakened over the past few years. The floods that hit Jakarta and the surrounding areas on Wednesday and Thursday should be a warning to immediately strengthen policies and improve coordination between regional governments amid the high potential of extreme rains in the future.

The flooding in Jakarta in the last two days was the result of three factors, namely extreme local rainfall, high tide and floodwater flowing in from upstream areas. The floods, which forced some 31,000 people in Jakarta to abandon their homes and killed 22 people in the Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, Depok, Bekasi (Jabodetabek) area reveals the unpreparedness of government agencies in dealing with floods.