President instructs reconstruction of Situ Gintung dam

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03/27/09 17:39

 

Tangerang (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed the relevant authorities to reconstruct the Situ Gintung dam in Ciputat, southeast Jakarta, which burst early Friday morning killing at least 35 people.

 

The President issued the instruction when he inspected the disaster site on Friday.

 

"The burst dam must be rebuilt. We will also design the new structure in a proper way so that it will not cause any further public concern," the President told the press when observing conditions near the broken dam.

 

In the disaster, a 250-meter-long section of the dam broke down allowing huge volumes of dam water to sweep over residential areas. It occurred at around 2 am Friday following several hours of heavy rains on Thursday night.

 

Besides instructing the rebuilding of a dam of better quality, the president also said the government would help residents whose homes were damaged rebuild their dwellings.

 

"The government, as it used to be, will help residents reconstruct their damaged houses," Yudhoyono said.

 

The head of state hoped that the central and local governments would properly coordinate their efforts in the reconstruction of the Situ Gintung Dam so that the emergency response given by both sides would proceed smoothly.

 

"Our system has since the beginning been on the right track. Before I arrived here, the vice president, the chief people`s welfare minister and others have also come here to carry out their respective tasks and functions in the framework of their emergency response duties," the president said.

 

Search and rescue officers were trying to rescue residents being trapped in their submerged houses. The survivors were evacuated to higher grounds near the University of Muhammadiyah Jakarta (UMJ) campus.

 

The floodwaters still reached a height of one to two meters late Friday morning.

Some survivors said that the disaster reminded them of a deadly tsunami which devastated Aceh Province and Nias Island on December 26, 2004. (*)

 

this was terrible, i was about going to dormitory and the location is not really far away from situ gintung :(

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03/27/09 12:26

Tens people missing, 12 killed after dam bursts in Tangerang

 

 

 

Some peoples safes their equipments from floods in Pondok Pinang, Tangerang, Banten province. (ANTARA photo/Paramayuda)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Twelve people were killed and tens others were missing after Situ Gunting dam burst and swept settlement areas at Cirendeu, Ciputat, Tangerang, Banten province, here in the wee hours of Friday.

 

The 12 fatal victims included two children, according to information collected by ANTARA here on Friday.

 

The dam burst and waters from which flooded settlement areas at Cirendeu, sweeping away tens of houses and a number of people at around 2 am local time, Friday.

 

Among the victims were students of the University of Muhammadiyah Jakarta (UMJ) who lived near the campus area.

 

Search and rescue officers were trying to rescue residents being trapped in their submerged houses. The survivors were evacuated to higher grounds near the UMJ campus.

 

The floodwaters still reached a height of one to two meters on late Friday morning.

Some survivors said that the disaster reminded them of a deadly tsunami which devastated Aceh Province and Nias Island on December 26, 2004.

 

They said that they had heard loud noises as if it were a powerful earthquake. They later found out that the noises came from floodwaters coming from the burst Dam.

(*)

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:bigcry:

[Darlene_Ihnfsa]

so bad news :(

i hope the president will allow reconstructions soon, as he had said.

i'm sure international help will arrive there soon too.