February 05, 2007

So far, about 340,000 are homeless as Jakarta floods again. Not really much of news here in the US, but it's quite a mess! What can one do? Keep their hopes up as the worst is yet to come...

My family in Jakarta has been spared thus far (they were hit quite hard in the 2002 flood), but they are just waiting for hell to break loose. They live alongside one of the rivers that typically floods, but haven't been affected yet as the dam in their neighborhood is still holding shut. Just spoke with my mother-in-law, and she said there is talk of the dam being opened soon to relive swollen rivers upstream. Needless to say, a huge mess. And that water is NOT clean! All forms of sewage flows directly into it (I can attest to this!). Yet, the children seem to be having a field day swimming in it. Lack of infrastructure and communication are mostly to blame. Outbreaks of various diseases are sure to follow...

posted by sugarmilktea 17 years ago
  • Damn. Good thoughts to your family in Jakarta, and everyone else affected.
  • How awful.
  • Good grief sugarmilktea. Oddly enough on the Japanese news I just got a glimpse of they were showing the Queensland floods and not the Jakarta ones.
  • What a damn awful pain.
  • Just seen the report about the floods on BBC1. I hope your family gets off lightly from this. It doesn't look very good.
  • Seconding the hopes of good luck for smt's clan.
  • Thirded.
  • 4th'd
  • I will second the "Good Grief". I feel like Indonesia's already had more than its fair share of natural disasters, after the Tsunami, the Jogja earthquake, the Bandung earthquake, and all the various landslides and other things of late. Reading this news just made me feel awful, and my heart goes out to all those that are affected. Best of luck to your family out there, sugarmilktea. I've got a lot of extended family living in Jakarta as well, a lot of Aunts and Uncles, as well as my currently wheelchair-bound Grandma. My mom got back from visiting them not just two weeks ago. I will have to tell her about this as soon as I can, so she can call over there and see if there's any news.
  • My thoughts are with your family, SMT. How people can keep smiling through this is amazing. We in the US haven't a clue about what tough times are. The power goes off for three days in a snowstorm, and we think it's a national emergency. These folks got grit!!
  • moxie, even.
  • How people can keep smiling through this is amazing. No kidding. Did you catch this guy? In my wife's old bedroom, you can see the watermark from the previous flood... kinda eerie to see the yellowed line of demarcation halfway up the wall. What strikes me most odd is that my family there continues on with relative normalcy - though it's almost certain that the floodwaters will hit them (based upon previous history). I think they've got important things on an upper level of the home now, so it's just a matter of waiting for the mucky water to wade in suddenly... and then waiting for it to recede leaving the yucky mess behind. Fun. Best of luck to your family as well, wander. Especially your Grandma! Yes, Indonesia has had more than its share of natural disasters of late...
  • Hope your families gets through this ok, SMT and Wander. This is like New Orleans all over again. The numbers who have had to flee their homes is mindboggling.
  • Thanks for the good wishes, sugarmilktea and StoryBored. I also forgot to say thanks, sugarmilktea, for posting this. I started checking other news sources as soon as I read this post, but like so many other things in Southeast Asia, it isn't getting much press. Even Wikinews, a place I've started to trust for comprehensive coverage of current events still doesn't have anything. I don't think I would have found out about this for a while if it wasn't for you, so I really appreciate that you put it up here. Again, best of luck to everyone affected by this, and keep safe, all you other monkeys out there.
  • It's on the AP wire now.
  • My brother is up to his navel in the water, fortunately he could move his stuff up to the 2nd floor. My grandma is evacuated, and so is my aunt. .I have experienced flooding in Jakarta when I was there, but then it only lasted a day.
  • I found out a couple of days ago that everyone in my family is fine, and for the most part they happen to be in parts of the city not too badly affected by the flooding. However, that sounds like it's not the case with your family, kilgates, so I'm glad that everyone in your family is safe and that they were able to move their things to higher ground. However, the reports are saying that there is more rain expected, so here's hoping for the best to everyone out there.