Bekasi River Overflow Paralyzes Bekasi City

BEKASI, KOMPAS - Overflowing water from the Bekasi River has flooded nearly the entire area of Bekasi City in West Java. Residents' activities have been disrupted as residential areas and shopping centers are submerged in floodwaters reaching over 3 meters. Citizens are awaiting concrete solutions from the government.

Bekasi River overflowed due to heavy rain in the upstream area (Bogor) and local rain in Bekasi City. At least 20 locations across seven districts were flooded as of Tuesday afternoon (4/3/2025).

Pondok Gede Permai and Villa Jatirasa are the most affected, with flood levels reaching over 3 meters. These two residential areas are located right along the riverbank, separated by a wall embankment over two meters high.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the evacuation process is still ongoing, particularly for residents who remain on the second floor of their homes due to the water not receding.

"The flood has not receded. It is still rising to the second floor of the house," said Head of RT 04 RW 08 Pondok Gede Permai, Tugimin.

Floods have hit residential areas since Tuesday morning. The water continues to rise although it has not broken the embankment.

According to Tugimin, heavy rain is not the only trigger for flooding. The Bekasi River in his residential area is getting shallower and has not been dredged.

"It would be better to dredge it. The term is normalization," said Tugimin.

Not much different from the conditions in Villa Jatirasa. Residents, assisted by the water police, are still evacuating those on the second floor of their homes.

"From noon until this afternoon, 60 residents have been evacuated. Many are still on the second floor of their homes. The water level continues to rise, reaching up to 4 meters," said one of the community leaders, Anton.

Villa Jatirasa is located on the banks of the Bekasi River. Its position is even lower than the river. Anton stated that the embankment is the only protection for residents against the river's overflow. However, it is not always effective in preventing floods. Similar to the residents of Pondok Gede Permai, they are awaiting concrete solutions from the government.

In addition, floods also hit economic centers. One of them is Mega Bekasi Hypermall. The overflow of the Bekasi River broke the embankment before submerging the mall.

Oscar (41), one of the traders on the ground floor, said the water level was up to 3 meters so that economic activity was paralyzed. "There has been no information from the management. We are still waiting," said Oscar.

This flood is the second to hit the mall. The previous flood occurred in 2017.

The overflow of the Bekasi River also covered Jalan Raya Pekayon so that PT Jasamarga Transjawa Tol diverted vehicles heading to the West Bekasi Toll Gate. This was done because the overflow continued to flood until it closed Jalan Raya Pekayon and affected the queue of vehicles on Jalan Ahmad Yani to the access to the West Bekasi Satelit Toll Gate.

Senior Manager Representative Office 1 Amri Sanusi said that vehicles bound for Bekasi City were diverted through the East Bekasi Toll Gate. His party also conveyed information about this incident through the Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) along the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road.

Until now, access from Jakarta and Cikampek to Bekasi City is still implemented situational opening and closing according to police discretion. Meanwhile, the main road conditions of the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road to the Cikampek area and vice versa can still be passed normally.

Bekasi Deputy Mayor Abdul Harris Bobihoe said that almost all sub-districts were affected by the flood so that sub-district offices became evacuation posts, health posts, and public kitchens.

The total number of refugees is 5,000 families, while the number of people affected is up to 16,000 families.

His party is also still trying to evacuate affected residents. Evacuation with non-motorized rubber boats is hampered by flood currents, while motorized boats are hampered by many cables so they must be extra careful.

"The total number of evacuees is 5,000 families, while the number of people affected is up to 16,000 families," said Abdul.

The flood handling identification team of the PUPR Ministry—now the PU Ministry for the Bekasi region—in January 2020 reviewed flood-affected areas in Bekasi City and Bekasi Regency. It was reported that there were 58 flood-prone areas in Bekasi City and 26 areas in Bekasi Regency.

Specifically for Bekasi City, the worst areas are Kemang Pratama and Pondok Gede. In Kemang Pratama, two overtoppings or overflows of water passed through the embankment. However, structurally it is still strong.

From this identification, future handling will be to restore the function of the embankment, compact the soil and embankment that is still strong so that it is permanent, and raise the height because there are several houses that are lower than the embankment.

Bekasi Mayor Tri Adhianto said that this flood has paralyzed Bekasi City. The water level even exceeded the usual, which is more than 5 meters. "Currently the focus is on evacuation and handling refugees. There has been assistance from BNPB and we are optimizing what is available," said Tri.