East Java government earmarks Rp 115b for disaster control<\/p>\n
Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
The East Java administration has allocated Rp 115 billion (US$
\n12.9 million) to prepare for and respond to natural disasters in
\nthe province during the rainy season.<\/p>\n
The administration said about Rp 40 billion would be allotted
\nto prevent and deal with natural disasters, and Rp 75 billion
\nwould be held in reserve to deal with the impact of any such
\ncalamities.<\/p>\n
East Java Governor Imam Utomo said on Monday the provincial
\nadministration had taken all possible steps to prevent any
\ncasualties as a result of natural disasters.<\/p>\n
The allocation of the money comes after at least 26 people
\nwere killed when a landslide hit the Padusan hot springs in the
\nPacet resort area of Mojokerto regency last month.<\/p>\n
A massive wave of mud, water and rocks triggered by three days
\nof rain obliterated the resort, where scores of people were
\nbathing in the Padusan hot springs.<\/p>\n
Some environmentalists blamed the tragedy on state-owned
\nforestry and plantation company PT Perhutani, which manages the
\nresort. They said Perhutani failed to take steps to prevent the
\ndisaster despite an earlier landslide in the same area.<\/p>\n
Syafrudin Ngulma, director of East Java's Walhi environmental
\ngroup, also accused Perhutani of ignoring illegal logging and
\ndeforestation above the resort.<\/p>\n
Walhi had for years been warning Perhutani to stop the logging
\nin Pacet and the surrounding areas of Tretes and Trawas.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, many people living near Mount Semeru, the largest
\nmountain in Java, have been evacuated from their homes. Most of
\nthe residents of the town of Lumajang have been evacuated as the
\nvolcanic activity of the mountain increases in intensity.
\nHowever, some residents refused to leave their homes.<\/p>\n
The East Java government has warned those people who refuse to
\nevacuate that landslides could sweep through their villages.<\/p>\n
Geologists have said there are more than 140 areas in East
\nJava at risk of natural disasters, while 18 other areas are
\nsubject to high levels of rainfall and flooding.<\/p>\n
Marci T.H. Setiawan, a senior member of the Indonesian
\nGeologists Association, told a provincial natural disaster
\ncoordination meeting in the East Java capital of Surabaya on
\nMonday that deforestation played the greatest role in determining
\nwhich areas were prone to natural disasters.<\/p>\n
Rampant deforestation, he said, had increased the number of
\ndanger zones, while other areas were mostly threatened by
\nflooding because of heavy rainfall in the region.<\/p>\n
"Ten percent of the 18 areas are flooded every season,
\nincluding Bojonegoro, Lamongan and Gresik, while Situbondo and
\nBondowoso also are vulnerable to flooding. Pacitan, at the
\nsouthernmost point of East Java, has 500 square kilometers that
\nare prone to landslides," Setiawan said.<\/p>\n
Governor Imam Utomo said the increased threat of natural
\ndisasters in East Java was the result of "unfinished
\nreforestation programs" in the regencies of Bondowoso, Malang and
\nSitubondo.<\/p>\n
"And then there were the landslides in Pacet, Bondowoso and
\nSitubondo. Those disasters further disrupted the reforestation
\nprograms," he said.<\/p>\n
He urged all of the regents in East Java to outline their
\nregional regulations for conserving protected forests so as to
\nhelp prevent further natural disasters.<\/p>\n
"Forests located on land that slopes more than 45 degree must
\nbe declared protected," the governor said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/east-java-government-earmarks-rp-115b-for-disaster-control-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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