Stemming the tide in Jakarta

Can Jakarta ever root out the problems that cause so much destruction after every monsoon season?

Jakarta, Indonesia, is one of Asia's most flood-prone cities. Every year hundreds of thousands of citizens living in the capital of Southeast Asia's largest economy brace for the loss of business, shelter and livelihoods.

Each year, as the rainy season approaches, the authorities insist they are ready to counter the tides of brown murky water, trash, and even animals, surging downstream. But the annual city-wide submergence continues.

Asia's monsoon season prompts annual debate about the state of infrastructure and the fundamental mismanagement of vital systems meant to keep some of the world's biggest cities moving. With a population of 10 million, Jakarta's latest battle to stem the tide highlights a deeper political and social problem: The government's inability to remove and rehabilitate low-lying slum areas; an unwillingness on part of thousands of poor people to leave dangerous areas despite the risk to themselves and their families; and the overwhelming problem of waste and dumping, often cited as the biggest hindrance to keeping Indonesia "flood-free".

Filmmaker's view

By Nidhi Dutt

Every year Jakarta and its 10 million citizens brace for the rainy season.

Every year the local government insists the city's flood defences are in place and they are well prepared to handle months of heavy rain and all that comes with it.

But despite these assurances, every year low-lying and coastal areas across Jakarta are choked with torrents of brown, murky water.

Residents of flood-prone villages like Kampong Melayu in the city's centre say they are used to wading through the filthy waist deep water that gushes through the alleyways of their neighbourhood at this time of the year.