Situ Gintung
Situ Gintung (Sundanese, Lake Gintung) was an artificial lake near to the town of Cirendeu (pronounced [tʃirəndɤ]) in Tangerang District, Indonesia. It was formed by a dam up to 16 metres (52 ft) high which was built by Dutch colonial authorities in 1933. The dam failed on 27 March 2009, draining the lake, with resulting floods killing at least 100 people.[1]
History
The lake and dam are located in the suburb of Cirendeu, Ciputat in Tangerang District.[2] The dam was originally built of earth by Dutch colonial authorities in 1933 and was up to 16 metres (52 ft) high.[3] It was made from earth compacted into a wall 16 metres (52 ft) high and the reservoir held at least 2,000,000 cubic metres (71,000,000 cu ft) of water.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).[4] Cracks were reportedly visible in the face of the dam embankment from around midnight.[5] The dam operators apparently sounded a warning siren shortly before the dam failed. A surge of water and debris several metres high was sent into the town of Cirendeu, washing away cars, houses and a brick-built bridge.[6][5] The flood hit while most of the population was asleep and left standing water up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) deep.[6] Many people were trapped in the town, many townspeople took to their rooftops to avoid the floodwaters.[6] The flood killed 98 people, and 5 more were unaccounted for.[7] The waters also inundated around 400 homes of which 250 were damaged or destroyed, displacing 171 people.[4][8] The flood submerged five power terminals cutting drinking water supplies to the nearby suburb of Lebak Bulus.[8]
The government of Indonesia evacuated people to higher ground at a nearby university campus.[9] Troops of the Indonesian Army were brought in to rescue survivors and to move bodies to a nearby makeshift morgue.[10] The site of the disaster was visited by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice-President Yusuf Kalla and Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie; and the government stated that it would pay for repairs to houses damaged by the flood.[6][5] Emergency repairs to the dam structure were carried out and the government began inspections of similar dam structures.[11] President Yudhoyono promised that the cause of the disaster would be investigated, and any dam staff found to have been negligent in their duties would face court charges.[3] Six officials have since been cited for negligence by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment.[1]
According to the BBC the area has "an ageing, poorly maintained drainage system which struggles to cope with heavy rainfall".[6] Floods in 2007 in the nearby capital Jakarta killed more than 50 people.[6] Yudhoyono vowed to rebuild the dam "in a proper way so that it will not cause any further public concern".[4]
References
- ^ a b "Walhi Cites 6 Officials For Dam Negligence". Jakarta Globe. 7 April 2009. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
- ^ "Indonesia crews resume dam rescue". BBC. 29 March 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Yet Another Tragedy Strikes the Nation". Jakarta Globe. 27 March 2009. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
- ^ a b c "Indonesian dam burst toll rises". BBC. 28 March 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
- ^ a b c Fitzpatrick, Stephen (28 March 2009). "Jakarta dam: Wall of water kills 77". The Australian. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference
bbc-2009-03-27was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Collapsed Dam of Situ Gintung, Tangerang, Banten Province
- ^ a b Joniansyah; Fery Firmansyah (27 March 2009). "Hundreds of Houses Destroyed in Cireundeu". Tempo Interactive. Archived from the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
- ^ Thompson, Geoff (27 March 2009). "Dozens dead in Indonesian dam burst". ABC News. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
- ^ "In pictures: Jakarta dam burst". BBC. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
water powerwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).