GENEVA (June 5, 2008) – The forecasted tidal flood in Jakarta and its surrounding areas have impacted thousands of people living in the coastal areas in north of Jakarta and Tangerang. The water level before peak time reached the height of an adult waist in Dadap village, Tangerang, Banten. Despite the condition, only few from a total 1,000 household living in the area were voluntarily relocated to a safer place.
According to the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG), the tidal flood started on Tuesday, June 3 2008, at 8 PM local time. The BMG also predicted that the peak of the tides will happens on 5 and 6 June at 9 PM to 10 PM local time, and last peak will happen on June 7, at 10 PM to 11 PM local time.
As soon as information on the tidal flood was received, CARE sent its emergency team to assess the impact of the flood and identify the immediate needs of the affected communities. Clean water is the most rare commodity to find during floods, whilst the highest in demand. Contaminated water can cause diarrhea particularly on children leading to death in absence of proper treatment.
As options to clean, consumable water, CARE distributed Air Rahmat, a water purifying solution containing sodium hypochlorite that makes the water safe to be consumed without boiling. One bottle of 100 milliliter Air Rahmat is good for one month for one family with five members,. Beside Air Rahmat, CARE also distributes hygiene kit and jerry cans for the treated water container to 354 families in Dadap village, Tangerang. The hygiene kits consist of tooth brush and paste, soap for bathing and washing, towel, floor cleaner, mosquito repellant and famine napkins.
CARE will continue to provide the hygiene kits and Air Rahmat to total 1,000 families in Dadap Village while its Emergency Team continue to monitor the situation in the flood prone zone around Tangerang. Not only responding to this year tidal floods, CARE also responded to the flood in Tangerang in early 2007 and in East and Central Java in early this year.
For more information or to interview members of the emergency team in Tangerang, please contact:
Wiwik Widyastuti
CARE Indonesia Communications Officer
Mobile: +62.(0) 812.108.2491
About CARE:
CARE is one of the world's leading humanitarian organizations, working together with the poorest communities to end poverty. CARE has been in Indonesia since 1967, and operates a broad range of integrated projects in disaster risk reduction, emergency response, environment and natural resource management, health, livelihoods and water and sanitation. Apart from the tsunami which devastated Aceh in December 2004, CARE responded to the earthquake in Yogyakarta and East Java in 2006, the earthquakes in Padang and Bengkulu, Sumatera, last October and the floods in Jakarta and Aceh Tamiang in the Spring of 2007.