Jakarta flooding put new flood information system unexpectedly to the test
The Jakarta floods of 2013 claimed 20 lives and left 20.000 displaced from their homes. Heavy rainfall on the 15th and 16th of January in and around Jakarta caused massive flooding in the city.
The Flood Management Information System (FMIS) that had been installed by HKV Consultants and research institute Deltares late 2012 was put to the test. The system is operated by the DKI Jakarta Public Works and connected the city's telemetry to a flood forecasting model. The flood information is disseminated to disaster organizations.
The implementation of the FMIS-system is part of a World bank flood mitigation project. The first phase was completed in December 2012.
Overview of incoming floods
Disaster control room at the Indonesia national disaster management authority, BNPB
FMIS: Sudden rise in water level Ciliwung river on January 15
"For the first time in history, Jakarta administration had a full-fledged overview of the incoming floods. And the system proved its value", says Jurjen Wagemaker of HKV Consultants. He was in Jakarta at the time of the floods. "Authorities had more lead-time to prepare themselves and could anticipate on the flood with better understanding of the situation".
Room for improvements
According to Wagemakers the recent floods learned that there is still opportunity for improvement: "For example by connecting the system to the systems of the disaster management organizations, emergency aid can be deployed much earlier than is the case at this moment. And flood warnings are still not reaching all citizens, causing great grief for those that have lost their belongings in the floods".
The Dutch flood expert assures that in the coming years the system will be further developed for effective emergency response.
The morning of the 17th, a 30-metre long section of the West Flood Canel collapsed under the pressure of the water, inundating large parts of Menteng, Jakarta’s main business district.
Immediately after the floodings the central Indonesian government announced to have set aside Rp2 trillion (206 million USD) to improve the drainage situation in Jakarta.
These funds will be used in the spillway project to divert excess water from the Ciliwung River to the East Flood Canal. This will reduce the amount of water flowing into the West Flood Canal
More about FMIS
HKV Consultants was awarded to implement the Flood Management Information System Jakarta by the World Bank. In joint venture with Deltares, HKV assists in the upgrade of the existing flood modeling framework and connection to the procedures and IT tools of the disaster management organizations.
With FMIS, disaster managers can take better and more timely decisions in flood prone Jakarta. The project award follows HKVs’ experiences in the Jakarta Flood Management program (2007-2009) and builds on the research done under the Dutch program Flood Control 2015 in Indonesia (2010-2012). HKV consultants has a representative office in Jakarta since 2010.
The services within FMIS include:
- modeling framework especially regarding the upgrade of river and channel capacities to represent recent and proposed dredging and rehabilitation activities of the main rivers of Jakarta;
- telemetric monitoring system, the connectivity and integration with other systems of the climate institutes in Indonesia (online stations, radar and satellite);
- training and capacity building of the specialists at the key agencies in and around Jakarta, to improve the management of flood control systems, communication during flood events, the preparedness by understanding how floods propagate through the city, as well as the technical skills to evaluate proposed mitigation measures.
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Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo on location of dike breach Western flood canal
Aerial view of Jakarta floods 2013
Also read:
Long term flood defence-plan can put jakarta floodings to a halt
More information
Deltares
Delft, the Netherlands
+31 88 335 8273
www.deltares.nl
HKV Consultants
Lelystad, the Netherlands
+31 320 294 242
www.hkvl.nl
Flood Control 2015 integrated forecasting systems
Delft, the Netherlands
+31 88 335 7446
www.floodcontrol2015.com