Jakarta – Housing complexes in Jakarta may no longer be located along river banks, Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria said on Tuesday.

"We will evict [residents of] housing complexes that violate regulations and can cause flooding similar to what occurred in Ciganjur," Riza said, as quoted by kompas.com.

The deputy governor said the Jakarta administration would attempt to mitigate flooding during the rainy season through a "river normalization" program.

"We will build paths for site inspection on each side of the rivers that have been naturalized or normalized. Ideally, no settlements are allowed to be established near the river," he added.

The prohibition came after a flood and landslide hit residents of Jl. Damai in Jagakarsa district, South Jakarta, on Oct. 10.

According to Jagakarsa district head Alamsyah, torrential rain in the area caused the wall of a nearby housing complex to collapse, which blocked the flow of water in the Anak Setu River. He added that the wall was built on top of an unstable mound.

The flooding reached 150 centimeters in depth and inundated approximately 300 homes, resulting in the death a 40-year-old woman named Widiar Nohara and injuring two others.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned of possible floods, landslides, whirlwinds and other natural disasters over the coming weeks. (trn)

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/10/20/jakarta-bans-housing-complexes-along-rivers.html