Tragically, yesterday’s widespread flooding in Jakarta claimed the lives of at least three people. But it could have been worse if not for the actions of some incredibly heroic volunteers like Taufiq Hidayat.
Taufiq is a member of Badan Amil Zakat Nasional (BAZNAS), a national volunteer group that is always on the frontline of emergency situations.
Yesterday, Taufiq and his team were deployed in Cipinang Melayu, East Jakarta, one of the hardest hit flood areas in the capital, to help with rescue and evacuation efforts.
As told by Jawa Pos, Taufiq and his team were paddling a raft down the middle of the chest-deep waters blanketing the neighborhood when he heard a local resident who was being evacuated shout at them, “Sir, please help, Bu Sundari and her baby are trapped in her home,’ before pointing them in the right direction.
The team of volunteers rushed towards Sundari’s house and when they got closer, they could hear the faint sound of a baby crying. But they couldn’t be sure exactly which direction it was coming due to the density of the tightly-packed buildings.
They tried to get closer to the sound but found it was coming from a narrow alley, one too narrow for the boat to pass through. As the head of the rescue team, Taufiq decided to jump into the deep murky flood waters, along with a few of his team members, in order to continue the search while the boat waited outside the alley.
”Getting to Ms. Sundari’s required going through a narrow, dark alley, dark. Access was difficult and there was a strong current,” Taufiq told Jawa Pos later.
After swimming through the narrow alleys, Taufiq managed to find the source of the crying. However, the strong currents kept pulling him away from the door and he was almost swept away. Finally, he got a grip on one of the windowsills and managed to break it open so he could enter through there.
Finally inside, Taufiq scrambled up to the 2nd floor where Sundari, her 6-month-old baby, Rizky, and her 60-year-old mother, Mardiah, had fled to save themselves from the rising waters.
But Taufiq couldn’t make it to the top. The wooden steps broke and caused him to fall back into the waters below.
Taufiq made a second attempt, climbing the stairs carefully to avoid the broken steps. When he finally reached the top he found the residents slumped in a corner. Sundari and her baby were both crying while Mardiah tried to keep them calm.
Taufiq tried to calm the family while he and his teammates made an evacuation plan. They connected a rope from the 2nd floor of the house towards the end of the alley where the boat was parked. Using the rope, the volunteers helped Sundari and her mother pull themselves to the raft while Taufiq carried Rizky out in a baby bath tub.
Holding onto the tub tightly while pushing through the strong current was tough and Taufiq had to hug the alley’s wall for traction. But eventually he made it and one of his teammates grabbed Rizky from the tub. The whole family was saved.
If you’d like to donate to BAZNAS’s flood relief efforts, you can find information by clicking on the Facebook post above or by going to www.baznas.go.id
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