Jakarta – Sutiyoso's Jakarta administration should be held responsible for the massive floods that crippled the city in February this year, environmental researcher Erwin Iskandar said Thursday.

Standing as an expert witness for flood victims at the Central Jakarta District Court, Erwin, the head of Trisakti University's research institute, said the local administration should have been able to properly anticipate the February floods.

"Jakarta has been flooded for the past 400 years. With the help of his advisors, the governor should have been able to anticipate (the floods) through a number of efforts, including fixing the flood gates built during the Dutch colonial era," he said.

The February floods inundated around 70 percent the national capital, paralyzing transport and commerce and forcing many to move to makeshift shelters.

The administration has been widely criticized for failing to learn from previous floods, the most serious recent one being in 2002.

Thursday's hearing was part of a court case filed by Jakarta residents represented by non-profit organization Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) against the administration and Sutiyoso.

The residents alleged both the governor and his administration had been negligent in their efforts to prevent and deal with the consequences of the flooding.

Citing his own research, Erwin said the city's repeated flooding was caused by rapid urban growth, which in turn shrunk the area devoted to water catchment.

"Many water catchment areas have been turned into private houses. As a consequence, rain water can't be absorbed properly and has nowhere to go after heavy rains," he said.

"To help prevent the further loss of water catchment areas, the government should call on developers to build vertical buildings instead of horizontal ones."

Fakta also brought a resident whose home was inundated in the flooding as a witness to the Thursday hearing.

"I had to stay on my roof for three days because my house was inundated. During the flood, I received help from non-governmental organizations, but none from the government," Sumiyati from Cipinang Besar Selatan in East Jakarta told the court.

Prominent education expert Mochtar Buchori was also scheduled to testify on behalf of the victims but missed his appearance due to illness.