JAKARTA HOLDING FLOOD EVACUATION DRILLS

Jakarta, Dec. 5 (ANTARA) - The Jakarta city administration is now regularly organizing evacuation drills for flood victims, according to Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

"First, we don't want casualties. Everything has been prepared. Every week, we organize emergency drills for the people and officers. It's not true that the people are never given emergency drills in the field," Bowo said here on Saturday.

Governor Bowo, accompanied Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Social Affairs Minsiter Saleh Segaf Al-Jufri inspected the Ciliwung river from Kampung Melayu to Manggarai on Saturday.

The people living on the Ciliwung river banks now know what to do in case of floods, the governor said.

"They know where to go when the water rises, where to find health posts and public kitchens. Everything has been well prepared so that there will be no casualties," the Jakarta Governor said.

The National Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted that There would be rains with high intensity in Jakarta from December 2009 to January 2010, which might cause floods.

Ciliwung river is polluted with garbages and its color is brown, while most of the residents living in small wooden houses built illegally along the river's bank threw their wastes directly to the river.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said about 70,000 families consisting of roughly 350,000 people living in buildings constructed along the river's bank.

The Ciliwung river's pollution and slump area where the poor living along the river's bank have caused many problems such as regular floods, diseases and other social problems.

Minister Agung Laksono said the government was trying to improve the Ciliwung river's condition and to prevent water pollution by implementing an environmental program in the area.

The government would also move the people living in the river's bank to some other areas, the minister said.