http://www.theage.com.au/world/indonesian-dam-warnings-ignored-20090330-9h0z.html
Indonesian dam warnings ignored a.. Tom Allard, Jakarta b.. March 31, 2009 Volunteers clear debris at what was a school. The site was in the path of the flood surge from the breached Situ Gintung dam. Photo: Reuters THE Indonesian Government ignored repeated warnings about a catastrophic flash flood at Situ Gintung and instead built a jogging track around its dam wall from funds earmarked for the wall's inspection and repair. The dam wall at Situ (Lake) Gintung south of Jakarta was breached early on Friday morning. The resultant flood left at least 98 dead and 132 missing as well as destroying hundreds of homes, creating a kilometre-long debris field. The body of a young victim was reportedly carried eight kilometres away. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that no Australians were among the casualties but confirmed two had been in the area when the disaster hit. "We have received reports two Australians were caught in the flooded area but are safe," a spokesman said. As anger mounted over the disaster, the man in charge of overseeing the safety of Greater Jakarta's 200 lakes and dams, Iwan Nusyirwan, director-general for Water Resources of the Public Works Ministry, told a media conference yesterday: "An inspection at Situ Gintung in 2008 showed there was no problem so we built (a) jogging track." However, local residents have alerted authorities to leaks from the lake for years. Nirwono Yoga, the head of the Indonesia Landscape Architecture Study Group, also warned of a calamity after conducting three surveys of Jakarta's dams in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Mr Yoga said the survey reports were forwarded to Mr Nusyirwan's department and raised particular concerns about Situ Gintung. It found 50 dams were in poor condition. "(The Public Works Ministry) said they disbursed 1.5 billion rupiah ($A180,000) of money for Situ Gintung," Mr Yoga told The Age. "All we can see is the jogging track of five metres' width surrounding the 21 hectares reservoir." Mr Yoga said rapid urban development has drastically reduced the capacity of Jakarta's lakes, making another tragedy "most likely". The concerns were dismissed by Mr Nusyirwan, who said Situ Gintung was a one-off as other lakes were not man-made. However, Mr Yoga said many other dams could be breached. "The Situ Pasir Tinggi in Pamulang, South Jakarta, for instance has very similar conditions to Situ Gintung," he said. "There is a housing complex beneath it." With AP [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
