At least two injured in Jakarta building collapse

Yahoo – AFP, 6 January 2020

A mixed-use building in Jakarta partly collapsed, injuring at least two

A five-storey building in Jakarta partly collapsed Monday morning, injuring at least two people who were taken to hospital, authorities said.

TV images showed about half the building on Jakarta's western side had caved in with concrete and other debris lying on the road. Rescue officials were seen carrying people out on stretchers.

The structure is a mixed residential-commercial space with a convenience store on the ground floor and small rental units on the upper floors.

"The upper floors of the building were empty, while the second floor was a warehouse and a place for employees to rest," West Jakarta police chief Audie Latuheru told reporters.

"The employees ran away when they heard creaking sounds. The two injured people were outside of the building when the accident happened," he added.

Indonesia's national search and rescue agency said three people were injured.

Initial media reports said eight people were wounded, but police later said that figure included those evacuated from the building.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident or if it was connected to the flooding sparked by torrential rain in the capital region last week that left more than 60 people dead.

The search and rescue agency said it appeared that the downpours may have played a role.

"We found evidence of flooding on the rooftop and the third and fourth floors had no water drainage system," said Budi Purnama, national operations director for Indonesia's search and rescue agency.

Map of Indonesia locating Jakarta where a five-storey building partly collapsed 

on Monday

"Water had seeped through the walls... the structure couldn't hold it any longer."

Police and eyewitness said the accident started shortly after 9:00 am local time (0200 GMT).

"The building just suddenly collapsed," eyewitness Ridwan Ria told AFP.

"There was a thundering noise and it happened very quickly. In seconds the building had collapsed.

"There was no sound or weird noise beforehand," the 60-year-old shop owner added.

Another witness said there was water dripping from the ceiling of the building's shop on Sunday.

"I noticed since yesterday that something was wrong," the witness, identified as Juni, told local TV.

"I went to the store yesterday and saw the place was damp with water dripping from the ceiling."

Police told AFP that another witness, identified as a convenience store employee, said the building had started leaning to one side two years ago.

Lax construction standards have raised widespread concerns about building safety in Indonesia.

In 2018, a group of teenagers practising for a dance and music show were among seven killed when the building they were in collapsed in Cirebon, east of Jakarta.

The same year, at least 75 people were injured when a mezzanine floor at Indonesia's stock exchange building in Jakarta collapsed into the lobby.

Thousands in shelters as Indonesia flood death toll hits 60

Yahoo – AFP, Haeril HALIM, Ganis Bungsu, January 4, 2020

Indonesian villagers use inner tubes to deliver supplies across a river at Banjar
Irigasi in Lebak, Banten province (AFP Photo/SAMMY)

Jakarta (AFP) - Indonesian rescue teams flew helicopters stuffed with food to remote flood-hit communities on Saturday as the death toll from the disaster jumped to 60 and fears grew about the possibility of more torrential rain.

Tens of thousands in Jakarta were still unable to return to their waterlogged homes after some of the deadliest flooding in years hit the enormous capital region, home to about 30 million.

In neighbouring Lebak, where half a dozen people died, police and military personnel dropped boxes of instant noodles and other supplies into remote communities inaccessible by road after bridges were destroyed.

"It's tough to get supplies in there... and there are about a dozen places hit by landslides," Tomsi Tohir -- the police chief of Banten province, where Lebak is located -- told AFP.

"That is why we're using helicopters although there aren't any landing spots."

Local health centre chief Suripto, who goes by one name, said injured residents were flowing into his clinic.

"Some of them were wounded after they were swept away by floods and hit with wood and rocks," he said.

Around Jakarta, more than 170,000 people took refuge in shelters across the massive urban conglomeration after whole neighbourhoods were submerged.

Map of Jakarta showing the areas affected by flooding (AFP Photo)

Torrential rains that started on New Year's Eve unleashed flash floods and landslides.

Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said on Saturday that two people were also killed after flash floods and landslides hit a village in North Sulawesi on Friday.

The agency said Saturday the total death toll had climbed to 60 with two people still missing.

"We've discovered more dead bodies," said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo.

'Trauma healing'

Jakarta shelters filled up with refugees, including infants, resting on thin mats as food and drinking water ran low.

Some had been reduced to using floodwater for cleaning.

"We're cleaning ourselves in a nearby church but the time has been limited since it uses an electric generator for power," said Trima Kanti, 39, from one refuge in Jakarta's western edges.

In hard-hit Bekasi, on the eastern outskirts of Jakarta, swamped streets were littered with debris and crushed cars lying on top of each other -- with waterline marks reaching as high as the second floors of buildings.

People wait to get fresh water from a truck in their flood affected village in Bekasi, 

West Java (AFP Photo/REZAS)

On Friday, the government said it would start cloud seeding to the west of the capital -- inducing rain using chemicals sprayed from planes -- in the hope of preventing more rain reaching the city region.

Water has receded in many areas and power was being restored in hundreds of districts.

The health ministry has said it had deployed some 11,000 health workers and soldiers to distribute medicine, disinfectant hygiene kits and food in a bid to stave off outbreaks of Hepatitis A, mosquito-borne Dengue fever and other illnesses, including infections linked to contact with dead animals.

Visiting hard-hit Lebak, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said the government would help rebuild destroyed schools and construct temporary bridges, while offering assistance to victims.

"We're also asking for NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to help with trauma healing," Muhadjir told reporters on Saturday.

Electrocution, drowning

Around Jakarta, a family -- including a four- and nine-year-old -- died of suspected gas poisoning from a portable power generator, while an eight-year-old boy was killed in a landslide.

Indonesia's disaster agency said the death toll from the heavy flooding had 

climbed to 60 (AFP Photo/BAY ISMOYO)

Others died from drowning or hypothermia, while one 16-year-old boy was electrocuted by a power line.

Jakarta is regularly hit by floods during the rainy season, which started in late November.

But this week marked Jakarta's deadliest flooding since 2013 when dozens were killed after the city was inundated by monsoon rains.

Urban planning experts said the disaster was partly due to record rainfall.

But Jakarta's myriad infrastructure problems, including poor drainage and rampant overdevelopment, have worsened the situation, they said.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has announced a plan to move the country's capital to Borneo island to take pressure off Jakarta, which suffers from some of the world's worst traffic jams and is fast sinking due to excessive groundwater extraction.)

Sinking feeling: Philippine cities facing 'slow-motion disaster'

Yahoo – AFP, Joshua MELVIN, May 20, 2019

Twenty years ago the residents of Sitio Pariahan could walk to the local chapel but

 today reaching it requires a swim, because the town, like many in the Philippines, 

is sinking (AFP Photo/Noel CELIS)

When Mary Ann San Jose moved to Sitio Pariahan more than two decades ago, she could walk to the local chapel. Today, reaching it requires a swim.

The main culprit is catastrophic subsidence caused by groundwater being pumped out from below, often via unregulated wells for homes, factories, and farms catering to a booming population and growing economy.

The steady sinking of coastal towns and islets like Pariahan in the northern Philippines has caused Manila Bay's brackish water to pour inland and displace thousands, posing a greater threat than rising sea levels due to climate change.

"It was so beautiful here before... Children were playing in the streets," San Jose said, adding: "Now we always need to use a boat."

Areas north of Manila like the provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan have sunk 

four-six centimetres (1.5-2.4 inches) a year since 2003, according to satellite 

monitoring (AFP Photo/Noel CELIS)

Most of the former residents have scattered to other parts of the region. Just a handful of families remain in Pariahan, which had its own elementary school, a basketball court and a chapel before the water flowed in.

These days just the flooded chapel, a cluster of shacks on bamboo stilts where San Jose lives with her family, and a few homes on a bump of land remain.

The children that live there commute 20 minutes by boat to a school inland and most of the residents eke out a living by fishing.

The provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan -- where Pariahan is located -- have sunk between four and six centimetres (1.5-2.4 inches) annually since 2003, according to satellite monitoring.

"It's really a disaster that is already happening... It's a slow-onset disaster," explained Narod Eco, who is part of a group of scientists tracking the problem.

Catastrophic subsidence caused by groundwater being pumped out from below 

is causing some Philippine cities to sink in coastal areas, allowing sea water to 

rush in (AFP Photo/Noel CELIS)

Threat to lives

By comparison, the UN estimates average sea level rise globally is about three millimetres per year.

The creeping bay waters put people and property at risk, while the threat is amplified by high-tides and flooding brought by the roughly 20 storms that pound the archipelago every year.

Some areas have raised roads in an effort to keep up with the sinking, creating odd scenes where the street surface is at the height of door knobs on roadside buildings.

At least 5,000 people have been forced out of the mostly rural coastal areas north of Manila in recent decades as the bay water has moved further inland, regional disaster officials told AFP.

The sinking is very likely permanent because the ground in the hardest hit areas is mostly clay, which sticks together after the water is pulled out.

At least 5,000 people have been forced out of the mostly rural coastal areas 

north of Manila in recent decades as the bay water has moved further inland, 

regional disaster officials told AFP (AFP Photo/Noel CELIS)

The fate of towns such as Pariahan provides a preview of the problems that may await some of the capital's 13 million people.

Sections of Manila along the shore of the bay are sinking too, with excess groundwater pumping being the most likely cause, Eco, the researcher, told AFP. The subsidence there though is at a slower rate than the northern coastal communities, potentially due to less pumping or differences in the soil, he added.

A moratorium on new wells in the greater Manila area has been in place since 2004. But enforcing that ban as well as shuttering existing illegal wells, falls to the National Water Resource Board and its roughly 100 staffers who are responsible for policing the whole country.

"We have insufficient manpower resources," the board's director Sevillo David told AFP. "It's a very big challenge for us, but I think we are doing the best we can."

A moratorium on new wells in the greater Manila area has been in place since 2004 

but enforcing that ban falls to the National Water Resource Board and its roughly 

100 staffers who are responsible for policing the whole country (AFP Photo/Noel CELIS)

Things will get worse

The demand for water has soared as Manila's population has nearly doubled since 1985, and the size of the nation's economy has expanded roughly ten-fold over the same period.

This explosive growth has created a ravenous demand for water, especially in the agriculture and manufacturing industries to the north of the capital.

"The sinking is a very serious threat to people, their livelihoods and cultures," said Joseph Estadilla, a spokesman for alliance seeking to protect Manila Bay coastal communities.

"This is only going to get worse in the near future," he insisted.

Manila and its surroundings are among several major cities, especially in Asia, under threat as the land collapses beneath them, though the causes for this vary.

The demand for water has soared as Manila's population has nearly doubled since 

1985, and the size of the nation's economy has expanded roughly ten-fold over

the same period (AFP Photo/Noel CELIS)

Cities such as Jakarta -- which is sinking 25 centimetres (0.8 feet) each year -- Bangkok and Shanghai risk being inundated within decades as a mixture of poor planning, more violent storms and higher tides wreak havoc.

In Jakarta, a city of 10 million people that sits on a confluence of 13 rivers, half the population lacks access to piped water, so many dig illegal wells to extract groundwater.

Yet in Pariahan the residents who remain are doing what they can to stay in a place they call home.

San Jose explained: "Every year we raise (the floor) of our house. Now my head almost reaches the ceiling."

'Great wall of Jakarta' plan to combat floods

Yahoo – AFP, Sam Reeves, 15 Oct 2014

Children residing in the slum area play along a dyke as construction of the

Jakarta sea wall begins, October 9, 2014 (AFP/Photo By Romeo Gaca)

Jakarta has launched a multi-billion-dollar scheme to build a huge sea wall to combat flooding as the Indonesian capital sinks, but there is scepticism about its chances of success in a country with a history of corruption and failed megaprojects.

The 35-kilometre (22-mile) wall, across the Bay of Jakarta off the city's northern coast, is the centrepiece of a project that will cost up to $40 billion over three decades, and also includes reclaiming land for 17 new islands.

The whole project will form the shape of a Garuda, the mythical bird that is Indonesia's national symbol.

Children residing in the slum area play 

along a dyke as construction of the 

Jakarta sea wall begins, October 9, 

2014 (AFP/Photo By Romeo Gaca)

While the aim is to prevent floods, it is hoped up to one million people will live and work on the islands, and help take pressure off a crowded city notorious as one of the world's most uninviting urban sprawls.

Supporters of the project, which officially got under way last week and is run by the Indonesian government with help from Dutch experts, say it is the only long-term solution.

"It's a life-and-death situation," said Purba Robert M. Sianipar, a senior economics ministry official with a key role in the project, adding hundreds were at risk of losing their lives from severe flooding if action was not taken.

However, some wonder whether such an ambitious plan will ever be completed, given Indonesia's bad record on infrastructure projects, such as plan to build a monorail in Jakarta that was embroiled in a storm of corruption six years ago.

Chief Economics Minister Chairul Tanjung suggested as much at last week's launch event, saying disagreements with future governments could knock the project off schedule.

Others question the approach entirely, saying the project will not stop the city from sinking, while graft is also a major danger, with officials sometimes awarding tenders to unsuitable firms in exchange for large kickbacks.

Jakarta has long been hit by floods during the rainy season, when tropical downpours cause rivers to burst their banks and deluge inadequate drainage systems, forcing tens of thousands out of their homes.

Residents gather along a dyke in Jakarta

as construction of the Indonesian capital's

 sea wall begins, October 9, 2014 (AFP/

Photo By Romeo Gaca)

However in 2007, a new type of flood set alarm bells ringing.

Rivers could stop flowing

Slum neighbourhoods were inundated when a high tide surged over sea defences in northern Jakarta, something that had never happened before and which highlighted the severe land subsidence in many areas.

As Jakarta has rapidly grown to a population of about 10 million, increased water extraction for drinking has caused the ground to compact and parts of the city to sink, a problem seen in other coastal conurbations, such as Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.

Parts of coastal north Jakarta, which is built on soft clay, are sinking as fast as 14 centimetres (5.5 inches) a year, meaning they could be metres below sea level in a few decades, according to those behind the sea wall project.

"Basically we are pumping ourselves into the ground," said Victor Coenen, from Dutch consultants Witteveen and Bos, which devised the master plan for the project.

The subsidence also means the 13 rivers in Jakarta may sink below sea level and stop flowing, increasing the risk of inundations.

After the 2007 floods -- which forced hundreds of thousands out of their homes -- officials scrambled to come up with a plan.

It involves strengthening the current, low sea defences over the next few years to provide temporary protection for north Jakarta, home to more than four million people.

A wall of giant iron reinforcement pipes is installed during the construction

of the Jakarta sea wall, October 9, 2014 (AFP/Photo By Romeo Gaca)

Work will then begin on the main wall, which will sit six to eight kilometres (four to five miles) from the coast and will be seven metres (23 feet) above sea level.

Construction of the wall will be finished between 2025 and 2030, while development on the islands -- which will have a mix of high-end and low-cost housing -- could take another decade.

A huge reservoir will be created between the islands and sea wall, where water from downpours can be stored so it does not flood the city, and into which rivers will be able to flow freely.

Plans are also in progress to slow the land subsidence by providing piped water to Jakarta from other areas and stop extraction of ground water.

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Draft of the Master Plan for National Capital Integrated Coastal Development. 
(JG Screen Grab courtesy of the website of the Coordinating Ministry of
Economic Affairs)

Jakarta to build 13 artificial lakes in 2012

The Jakarta Post, Thu, 10/06/2011

Apart from completing the construction of the East Flood Canal, Jakarta Administration has announced plans to build 13 artificial lakes in efforts to cope with annual flooding in the capital.

“We are still in the land acquisition process, and the construction work will be carried out in stages,” Jakarta Public Works Agency natural resources management chief Fakhrurrazi said Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that the lakes, the construction of which is expected to begin in 2012, would be built in several locations including Jagakarsa, Bintaro, Lebak Bulus and Marunda.

Fakhrurrazi said the agency would also propose a budget for policing and dredging the lakes, in addition to building lanes around them to prevent citizens to from building houses on their banks.

Dutch to help build dikes in Indonesia

RNW, 6 July 2011

The Netherlands is to help with plans for a 36-kilometer dike around the Indonesian coastal city of Jakarta to protect the city from flooding.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ben Knapen has set aside 4 million euros in development aid for the project and two Dutch experts will be sent to help develop the plans. The dike will be build two kilometres into the sea so that land can be reclaimed for urban development.

“This investment in a master plan to protect Jakarta from the sea is a good example of the new development policy in which Dutch knowledge and skills can made a difference,” says Deputy Minister Knapen.

Jakarta is regularly hit by flooding. In 2007 large parts of the city were inundated by several meters of water. At least 18 people drowned and around 300,000 people become homeless. The economic damage was huge; the airport had to be closed as a result. Pumps have been installed as a short term solution and the road to the airport has been raised.

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Dutch govt to extend grant program for Indonesia

Netherlands to assist RI in boosting food security

River dike collapses inundating hundreds of houses

Antara News, Sun, April 3 2011

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Langkat, N Sumatra (ANTARA News) - A river bank in Padang Tualang sub-district, Langkat regency, North Sumatra, collapsed causing inundation of hundreds of houses and hundreds of others facing potential flooding.

"The dike in Cucukan river, Tanjung Putus village, Padang Tualang sub-district, collapsed last night," Erdiyanto, Tanjung Putus village head said Sunday.

He said the damage on the river dike became worse in the morning hours due to the strong Cucukan river flow as the result of constant hard rain in the last couple of days.

Cucukan is an estuary of Batang Serangan, having its upper reaches in the Gunung Lauser National Park, he said.

Erdiyanto also said that hundreds of houses of villagers had been inundated, so were many of their farmland and plantations.

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

Storm Chaos Reignites Calls for Relocation of the Capital

The Jakarta Post, Dessy Sagita & Arientha Primanita | March 18, 2011

A tree collapsed in front of National Police headquarter in South Jakarta
 on Wednesday. Extreme weather in the capital saw hail falling from the
 sky, trees uprooted, widespread surface flooding and damage to the
exclusive Senayan City in South Jakarta. (JG Photo/Farouk Arnaz) 

         

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The Jakarta administration is organizing compensation for vehicles and structures damaged by Wednesday’s freak weather, but frustrated Jakartans say more is needed: a capital relocation.

“Jakarta is under pressures it can no longer handle,” said Andrinof Chaniago, a public policy expert from the University of Indonesia, raising once again the debate of whether Indonesia needs to move its capital.

The sever weather on Wednesday afternoon quickly flooded roads throughout the capital, downed 42 trees and broke off branches from at least 100 more, damaging several cars and buildings in the process.

Catharina Suryowati, head of Jakarta’s Parks and Cemeteries Office , said the city would compensate the owners of each unit damaged by the trees with Rp 10 million ($1,140) each. “To claim it, the owners must give visual evidence in the form of photos, a police letter and the vehicle documents, while for buildings or houses, they must attach a letter from their neighborhood heads,” she said, adding that claims would be accepted for two months.

She acknowledged that more than 2,000 of the 70,000 trees in the city are at risk of collapse. “The trees are old, sick, rotten or tilting by more than 30 degrees. The trees’ trunks are prone to be broken,” she said.

Hari Sasongko Kushadi, head of the city’s Building Control and Monitoring Office, said owners of cars damaged by four collapsed billboards could also make claims with the city’s Tax Office against the sign owners.

Nirwono Joga, an urban planner from Trisakti University, said the city administration was always reactive to incidents like this, but rarely made attempts to prevent incidents. “It is not the trees’ faults but the planning of the trees planters,” he said.

But Andrinof said the problem was insufficient infrastructure and services creaking under the weight of a growing population.

Jakarta has become a magnet for people across the country because it is the center for both government and business. “It is now time to consider separating these two functions,” he said.

Intan Wibisono, a public relations consultant, agreed. “If the center of administration is relocated, development will spread to another part of the country and people wouldn’t flock to Jakarta,” she said. “It’s going to be a very big investment, and I know the transition period is going to be chaotic and painful, but it might pay off in the long run.”

The price of inaction, Andrinof said, was expensive for Jakartans who are forced to spend more for gas and medical costs. “Not to mention, wasting hours on the road makes people aggressive; Jakarta is full of angry, impatient people,” he said.

Emil Hartanto, an office worker who rides a motorbike from his house in Depok to his office in Pancoran, South Jakarta, every day, knows this all too well. “When you spend hours in the maze of traffic, your mood is ruined, you arrive in the office tired and grumpy, with not much energy left to stay productive,” he said.

The capital urgently needs to be relocated, Andrinof said. “There is no way to catch up, a breakthrough must happen,” he added.

Port Road Continues Falling Apart

Jakarta Globe, Ulma Haryanto, Dofa Fasila & Arientha Primanita | February 12, 2011

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Just two months after it reopened following Rp 9 billion ($1 million) worth of repairs, Jalan R.E. Martadinata in Ancol, North Jakarta, is collapsing at several points along its southern section.

Residents said the affected section of road, only a few meters from the Ancol train station, had subsided severely months earlier.

“The road has been like that for a couple of months now,” Beni, 24, a motorcycle taxi driver, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.

“A week ago some people from the Public Works Ministry came and put up barriers around the collapsed section.”

The road was more severely damaged last September along its northern stretch, 2.5 kilometers from Ancol station, when a 103-meter span consisting of two entire lanes collapsed into the Japat River below.

Authorities blamed the collapse of the 20-year-old road on the erosion of the supporting piles by tidal surges, while urban planners and city councilors believed it was due to weak monitoring and lack of maintenance.

Repairs were carried out by state-owned contractor Wijaya Karya at a cost Rp 9 billion, and the section of road was reopened in December.

When the Globe visited the site on Friday, it could be seen that several sections of Jalan Martadinata had subsided into the river, which runs along the right side of the road.

At least four sections of the road were being shored up by bamboo scaffolding.

Agus, 55, a construction worker who lives and works in the area, said the damage had begun almost a year ago.

“At the time, there was work being done to pave the road,” he said. “The contractors never got around to laying down the concrete before the land suddenly subsided beneath the road.”

Djoko Murjanto, director general of the Public Works Ministry’s Bina Marga unit, which oversees roads, said the cause of the recent collapse was land subsidence in the area.

“We’ve installed sheet piles to support the collapsed sections,” he said.

“We had planned to install them since the collapse of the road last year, however the land subsided faster than we expected.”

He added that an evaluation by the ministry last November had resulted in recommendations to shore up the entire length of Jalan Martadinata with sheet piles.

“Today we’ve done initial measurements for the section that has severely subsided, including other sections that are at risk of collapse, and we’ll install sheet piles along a 100-meter section to reinforce these sections,” Djoko said.

“The old design for the road didn’t call for piles because it was structurally sound, but the soil structure has changed since then, becoming soft and prone to subsidence.”

He said the planned repairs on the critical section were expected to be completed within two months, while repairs to the rest of the road would be completed later this year.

Djoko also said that since September’s collapse, his ministry had been monitoring the overall condition of Jalan Martadinata, one of the main roads for container traffic to Tanjung Priok Port.

“We’ve made a list of where repairs are needed and the points where strengthening of the physical structure is needed,” he said.

“A tender process for the repairs is also under way.”

He added that because the latest subsidence had been unexpected, the ministry would speed up repairs by skipping a tender and appoint a contractor.

“We estimate that it will cost Rp 2 billion,” he said.

Also on Friday, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said he had ordered the city’s Public Works Office to carry out an investigation into the newly collapsed section of road.

“The road is a national road, which means it falls under the authority of the Public Works Ministry, but we can help by carrying out our own investigation,” he said at City Hall.

He added that much of North Jakarta was prone to land subsidence as a result of massive groundwater extraction, which in turn exacerbated tidal flooding that kept the soil in a continuously soft state and more at risk of further subsidence.

Fauzi said the problem essentially boiled down to the lack of access to clean water in the area.

“As long as the public isn’t served by a good water network, they’ll keep pumping up groundwater,” he said.

“We need to be able to provide sufficient clean water to resolve this issue.”

Parts of North and West Jakarta have experienced some of the worst rates of land subsidence in the city since 1974.

The worst-hit areas are Muara Baru and Ancol, both in North Jakarta, which have sunk by 4.1 meters and 1.88 meters respectively during this time.

In West Jakarta, the land has subsided by up to 2.5 meters in West Cengkareng and 1.97 meters in Daan Mogot.

Related Article:

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Jakarta Plans to Construct Sea Wall Along North Coast

Jakarta Predicted to be Underwater By 2012

President: Relocating the capital city an option

Migration Due to Climate Change Demands Attention - ADB