A man who spreads information about potential floods

KOMPAS/KURNIA YUNITA RAHAYU

Puarman

His experience as a flood victim has prompted Puarman, 50, to get involved in disaster mitigation. In the last 12 years, he has built a social movement to provide information about potential floods to residents living in flood-prone areas close to the Cileungsi and Cikeas rivers.

Without heavy rains and prior notice, the roads in the Vila Nusa Indah 2 housing complex in Bojong Kulur, Gunung Putri, Bogor regency, was flooded at the end of 2005. The floodwater was 50 centimeters high. The water got into the residents’ houses, including Puarman’s. Puarman, who had just relocated from Pondok Kelapa, East Jakarta, was shocked to realize the floodwater inside his house was 70 cm high.