On Friday morning, torrential rains caused the Situ Gintung dam in Indonesia's Banten province to collapse, flooding an area across 2km, killing at least 58 people and leaving over 400 homes submerged. The dam is thought to have released 2 million cubic metres of water.

 

Officials have yet to disclose the cause for the dam failure, though they continue to reiterate that it was "built in the 1900s".

When the dam burst at 2am, most residents in the area were still asleep. Those that were alerted scrambled up to their roof tops in an attempt to evade the surge of water that rose up to 4 metres in some places. Some of those who tried never made it and have perished or are missing.

Like other disasters of such nature, the immediate response is to recover and grieve. Perhaps later there will be an investigation into how this was allowed to happen.

 

A girl makes her way through Jakarta's floods in a pushcart.

Photo by Mathias Japri

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono cut short a trip to West Java province, where he was campaigning ahead of April 9 parliamentary elections, to visit the disaster scene and offer condolences to the victims. Vice-President Yusuf Kalla told Metro TV, "We will provide emergency help to the victims. For those whose homes were destroyed, the government will help with the repairs." Failing to mention a lack of preventative effort and foresight into the potential disaster.

No official has yet issued a statement to suggest that there will be an investigation to assess the failure of the dam. Though they have reflected years of under-investment in much of the country's crucial infrastructure.

The usually idyllic lake is a popular tourist attraction. Its perimeter is surrounded by lake view townhouses on the western bank, and squatter settlements on the eastern and northern banks, which is the immediate area across the earthen levee.

Earthen dams are constructed as a simple embankment of well-compacted earth, and are usually constructed from materials found on-site or nearby, making them very cost-effective in regions

where the cost of producing or bringing in concrete would be expensive. It is not known what kind of drainage or drain system the dam utilised, but journalists in the field report the city has “an ageing, poorly maintained drainage system which struggles to cope with heavy rainfall.”

If observers are capable of perceiving this, there is little wonder if and how a dam that was about to shatter went unnoticed and unaddressed. Especially because the dam was constructed in the 1900s, district officials have a cause to be concerned about its robustness.

March is a comparatively drier month in Jakarta, with rainfall peaking at just 100.4mm compared to 384mm in January. Though changes in rainfall patterns are definitely being observed throughout the region.

Located on the south-western edge of Jakarta, the flood area was just metres away from a major highway and Muhammadiyah University Campus.