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Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo on Monday warned people who lived along the banks of the Pesanggrahan River in West Jakarta that they could face severe flooding during the rainy season because the Situ Gintung reservoir in Tangerang, which at one point could hold some 2 million cubic meters of water, had burst in March.

Fauzi urged those living along the banks of the Pesanggrahan to remember that the river overflows every rainy season and floods a number of areas, including Cileduk, Cipulir and Bintaro.

Illegal dumping also occurs along the banks of the river, further exacerbating the possibility of flooding.

“For those who live along the Pesanggrahan River, up toward the Metro TV offices [in Kedoya, West Jakarta], please be prepared for flooding because the Situ Gintung reservoir, which once accommodated the rainwater, is now gone,” Fauzi said at City Hall.

He said that without Situ Gintung, even “light” rainfall could send floodwaters through the residential complexes of IKPN Bintaro.

“The city cannot do much about this for now, since reconstruction efforts [at Situ Gintung] are only scheduled to be completed in a year’s time,” Fauzi said.

The governor added that he had conveyed instructions to subdistrict chiefs to warn residents and to prepare them for the worst.

The reservoir wall collapsed on March 27 after prolonged and heavy rains, sending a torrent of water and mud through three densely packed neighborhoods.

The disaster killed 101 people, displaced around 800 and destroyed hundreds of houses in Cireundeu, an urban ward in Banten with a population of around 30,000.

Fahrurrozi, head of the water resources division at the Jakarta Public Works Agency, said the city was helpless to mitigate the potential flooding.

“We cannot do anything since the central government has the authority and is responsible for managing the effects of the overflowing Pesanggrahan River,” he said during a hearing with the City Council’s Commission D, which oversees public works.

Pitoyo Subandrio, the head of the Ciliwung-Cisadane Agency overseeing freshwater reservoirs in the basin of the two rivers, said Situ Gintung dam had been built to hold reservoir water, and not to control flooding.

He also urged people to be prepared for the worst, especially those who live along the banks of the Pesanggrahan River.

Meanwhile, Fauzi said the city would collaborate with the Jakarta Traffic Police to manage traffic during or after heavy rains in the capital.

“People are selfish and drive as they wish,” he said. “Traffic jams happen not only because there is flooding, but also because the vehicle users jam up the roads.”

Fauzi said that motorcyclists who took refuge under the Semanggi overpass during heavy rains also contributed to gridlock in Kota, West Jakarta.

“The Jakarta Police and the city administration have agreed to allow motorcycles to only travel in one single lane to avoid heavy traffic,” he said.

Rois Handayana Syaugie, the secretary of the City Council’s Commission D, said the city administration needed to work on a better system to deal with the floods in the city.

“The fact is just two hours of rain in some parts of Jakarta can cause flooding and horrendous traffic jams,” Rois said.

Monsoon rains cause flooding almost every year in Jakarta.

More than 80 people were killed and thousands left homeless during weeklong floods in Jakarta in 2007.

Floods also prompted the temporary closure of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in 2008.