The Jakarta Globe, January 13, 2014.
Widespread flooding across the capital on Monday indirectly contributed to the deaths of two people in East Jakarta who were unable to be transported for hospital treatment.
“They weren’t drowned or washed away by the floods,” City Hall spokesman Alberto Ali said, “but because of their illnesses.”
Rudi Samagu, 60, a resident of Bidara Cina in Jatinegara, and an as-yet unidentified person from the neighboring ward of Kampung Melayu, could not be transferred to hospital and died of unconfirmed illnesses.
The two neighborhoods frequently fall victim to flooding.
The most recent data from the Jakarta office of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) indicate floods have affected 28,000 people across 21 subdistricts.
“The highest water level was recorded in Cawang urban ward in the subdistrict of Kramat Jati, East Jakarta,” Alberto said.
Jakarta Police said they have seconded 5,500 officers to tackle evacuation, security and traffic problems in affected areas.
“We’re currently prioritizing helping people evacuate and we are setting up logistics and medical posts,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said. “We’re also coordinating with residents to prevent looting or theft.”
The National Police, meanwhile, said they were preparing 15,000 canoes to help evacuate people from flooded homes.
“Our personnel are ready to secure houses vacated by evacuees,” said Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, the head of the National Police’s security division. “From the beginning, we’ve been ready to help and we’ve alerted our officers to anticipate flooding this rainy season.”
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ma 13 jan 2014 - 20:33