REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The drainage system in Jakarta is unable to store high volume of rainwater, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

"The flash floods in Jakarta on Sunday (February 8) were not caused by the overflow of major rivers, but by the failure of the drainage system to store water from the incessant heavy rains," Nugroho explained here on Wednesday.

According to him, waterways in Jakarta are able to drain only 50 to 60 millimeters of rainwater per day, while on February 8, the level of rainfall had reached 177 millimeters.

The major rivers in Jakarta did not overflow that day, he affirmed.

Nugroho further noted that water in some rivers, including Ciliwung, Cisadane, Pesanggrahan, Sunter, and Angke, were at safe levels that day (Sunday), estimated to have risen only to alert level three.

Moreover, the BNPB has set up 28 tactical command posts to handle the flood crisis in the capital city.

"The command posts were set up mid-January," the BNPB spokesman pointed out on Tuesday.

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