"There were so many marine ponds in this settlement. The tidal flood supposed to be flowed to marine ponds. A dozen years ago local citizen sold their marine ponds for factory construction. From that time, the tidal flood came to this settlement," as Sri said while remembering the past.
By: A. Ryan Sanjaya
IT WAS TAMBAKLOROK, a fisher settlement at north coast of Semarang City, Indonesia. The fishy smell wind always welcome to the visitor who travel to that settlement. Dusty in sunny day, and muddy in rainy season.
There are hundreds of holes on the street. Motorbike drivers should choose the proper side to avoid that inundation that establish all day long.
While driving on small alleys, the visitor would see an attracting sighting: the dwarf houses.
Those "low-roof" houses were built coincide with the "too-high-roof" houses. At some area of that settlement, the visitor also would see some drowning houses. The roof top is as high as adult people's eyes.
From alley to alley, the visitor also would see the children who play with anything they have. Just like other children, there were always happiness in their eyes, and sometimes they laughed so hard. Perhaps, they did not know that they play on the land that their parents always worry about.
That anxiety be perceived by Ani Faridah, a meal and drink seller. She sells those meal and drink at front of her house. Compared to the other house, Ani Faridah's house is so much higher.
"I have been raise this house for years. I make it high so that I do not have to raise this house every five or ten years," she said.
Although the house was quite high, her house-yard was still lower than the height level of road in front of the house. The government always raised the road height level so that it would not be inundated by tidal flood. The consequence was the house would always inundated by tidal flood because of the lower position. That was why raising the house height level is a inevitability activity.
The tidal flood---the specter at once the most loyal friend of Tambaklorok citizen---was not always came direct from the sea. Sometimes this water also percolated from the ground to the house yard and suddenly penetrated into the house.