SINCE Monday night, February 24, Rano has been religiously checking the water level of the Ciliwung River in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta. The Bukit Duri IV Pumping Station employee’s intuition told him that the floods, like the ones that occurred on New Year’s Eve, would soon return.

That day, heavy rainfall indeed poured down on Jakarta and its surrounding areas from night until morning. Wearing a simple raincoat, Rano made his rounds