January 23, 2026 | 11:40 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Floodwaters as high as 180 centimeters submerged several areas within the Green Lavender housing complex in Suka Mekar Village, North Bekasi, on Friday morning, January 23, 2026. The head of Neighborhood Association (RT) 02 Green Lavender, Hendro Fernando, stated that flooding in their area has been overflowing since Monday, January 19.
"The Green Lavender housing complex is a frequent flood zone due to its drainage system; it has been quite severe earlier this year," he said when contacted on Friday, January 23, 2026. Hendro stated that the flooding in their area was not solely caused by heavy rainfall. He mentioned that the embankment was inadequate to contain the water flow.
He noted that the embankment in their area was constructed only from clay soil. "As a result, the Cikarang Bekasi Laut canal breached, and the water surged into our housing complex," he said.
These prolonged floods have impacted 1,200 subsidized housing units in the Green Lavender area. Hendro said that 462 families have been forced to evacuate due to the floods, which submerged thousands of subsidized homes. "There are 158 children and 14 elderly people involved," he said.
He mentioned that the floods at the beginning of this year have paralyzed residents' activities. Hendro said that the residents had to take shelter in unused buildings in another complex owned by the developer.
By the fourth day of the flood, Hendro noted that no tents from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) had arrived for the evacuees. "The most urgent needs are medicine, ready-to-eat food, and diapers for the children," he said.
The floods did not only strike the Green Lavender housing complex in Suka Mekar Village. Similar disasters also occurred in East Bekasi. The floods in the Aren Jaya area of the Bekasi Timur Sub-district even resulted in the death of an elderly resident who was swept away by the current on Sunday, January 18, 2026.
The Head of the Emergency and Logistics Section of the Bekasi City Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Idham Kholid, said that the floods submerged the area where the victim lived. Idham explained that the incident began when the BPBD received reports from residents around 9:00 a.m. After receiving the reports, BPBD personnel immediately deployed to the scene.
However, rescue efforts failed to save the victim's life. "Residents managed to evacuate the victim, but their life could not be saved after being swept away by the flood," said Idham.
The Acting Regent of Bekasi, Asep Surya Atmaja, said that the Bekasi Regency Government would carry out the normalization of the Cikarang Bekasi Laut (CBL) River as a long-term solution to the floods, particularly in Srimukti Village, North Tambun District.
Asep said that the floods in Srimukti Village were not a new occurrence but rather a recurring disaster due to the suboptimal function of the CBL River as a main channel. According to him, as long as the normalization of the CBL River has not been carried out comprehensively, the risk of flooding will continue to recur.
"If the CBL River is not normalized, this will continue to happen; this is not only in Srimukti, but also in Wanasari and other areas that are tributaries of the CBL," he said on Monday, January 19, 2026.
In addition to normalization, Asep plans to create diversion channels as a technical solution to redirect the flow of water from small rivers that flow into the large-capacity CBL River. "Because the CBL River is large, while small rivers end up queuing; one option for the future is diversion channels, but we will first assess it technically with the relevant agencies," he said.
Eka Yudha Saputra contributed to the report
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