BMG warns of more disasters

BMG warns of more disasters

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) issued a public
warning on Friday of more landslides and floods due to rainstorms
that would fall until the end of this month, especially in the
southern and eastern parts of the country.

BMG head Gunawan Ibrahim predicted heavy rains would fall in
the provinces of Riau, Bangka-Belitung, South Sumatra, Central
Java, East Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara,
South East Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua.

"We have warned authorities in the provinces about the heavy
rains and possible landslides and floods that may continue until
the end of this month. The end of February will be the peak of
the rainy season," Gunawan said.

Floods, rainstorms and landslides have claimed dozens of lives
and inundated many parts of the country over the past week.

At least 15 people were killed when a landslide buried their
homes last week in Purworejo regency, Central Java.

Severe storms also hit Jakarta and several cities along the
northern coast of Java last week.

Gunawan said the heavy rains were caused by a collision of
southerly winds from Australia and northerly winds from the Asian
continent, which created dense clouds over Indonesia.

The agency predicts that rainfall will reach a depth of more
than 100 millimeters per day, more than double the norm.

"Due to the very heavy rains, landslides may occur in many
unstable hilly areas, while floods could sweep through lower
areas in the regions," he said.

Gunawan said rainfall would start to decline in March and a
transitional season would last from May to June before the dry
season arrives in July.

In East Nusa Tenggara, at least four people died and five
remained missing following a flood in Reok district, Manggarai
regency.

Local information office head Agustinus Ampur said on Friday
that the search and rescue team were continuing their search for
the missing persons.

"The roads have been cut by the flood, making it impossible
for us to deliver humanitarian aid. The telecommunication system
has also been cut out there," he said.

The villages of Reo and Mata Air in the same district were
severely damaged, with almost all houses engulfed by the
floodwaters that reached 2.5 meters deep.

At least 27 schools in Gubub district, Grobogan regency,
Central Java, have been suspended since Thursday as floods washed
through the buildings.

Students and teachers from 21 elementary schools, three junior
high schools and three senior high schools have combined forces
to save school supplies and equipment.

"Many of our supplies were damaged by the flood, including our
books. We can't count our losses," local education agency head
Sugiyono said.

Sugiyono expected the students to resume their studies on
Monday, if floodwaters had subsided and the damage could be
repaired.

The flood has also cut roads linking Grobogan and the
provincial capital of Semarang, destroyed 15 dikes and swamped
290 hectares of paddy fields.

Lack of tarpaulins and other emergency materials to erect
makeshift tents have forced hundreds of people from five villages
in Karangasem regency, some 70 kilometers east of Denpasar, Bali,
to take shelter in the homes of relatives and neighbors after
their homes were blown down by a windstorm earlier this week.

"The regent distributed 30 tarpaulins to the victims yesterday
-- all the tarpaulins we could buy from every store in
Karangasem," administration spokesperson I Made Suama said on
Friday.

The windstorm that sporadically hit four regencies in Bali has
damaged at least 2,135 houses, of which 268 were completely
destroyed. The disaster also ruined 12 schools.

The villages of Bukit, Seraya Timur, Seraya Barat,
Tegallinggah and Seraya Tengah were hardest hit by the gale-force
winds.

In East Java, three cabinet ministers visited on Friday three
districts in Mojokerto regency that have been flooded out since
Wednesday.

During their visit, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare
Jusuf Kalla, Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure
Soenarno and State Minister of Communications and Information
Syamsul Mu'arif said the government would take every measure to
prevent floods in the future.