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Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters: The Economics of Effective Prevention
Jakarta still attracts a quarter of a million new residents every year. Residents of the Kamal Muara district have to raise their houses because the ground is sinking. The ground level is falling with the water table because industrial estates and other commercial enterprises without reliable piped water supply extract fresh groundwater from borewells hundreds of meters deep. Northern parts of Jakarta are predicted to be four to five meters below sea level within 20 years, and simulations show that floods would affect up to 5 million people. Essential for prevention is collective government action, the subject of the next chapter.