Disasters continue to claim lives in other provinces

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Weather-related disasters that have continued to plague dozens of provinces across the country claimed at least three more lives in South Sulawesi and Bali and displaced thousands of others in Banten and East Java.

A man was killed and four others were seriously injured in landslides in Mamuju regency, South Sulawesi, over the weekend and two other people were buried by a landslide in Kemenuh Village, Gianyar, Bali on Monday.

Abdul Djalal Rachman, spokesman for the Mamuju administration, said Denis Daud, 4, died while Enrik, 12, suffered a leg fracture and two others had severe injuries after their house located on a hillside collapsed in a landslide in the Binanga Village in the regency.

A police officer in the Sukawati Police Subprecinct, said I Ketut Galih, 32, and I Wayan Gandi, 40, residents of Kemenuh Village in Gianyar, Bali, were buried and two others suffered severe injuries in a landslide when they were mining stones in the village.

All the victims were evacuated to Sanjiwani General Hospital in the regency.

Gianyar Regent Tjok Gde Budi Suryanman who visited the victims, called on local people not to proceed with digging activities in areas prone to landslides, while the heavy downpours continue to occur.

A major landslide that destroyed many villages in the regency in Jan. 1999 killed 40 local people.

Last week, at least 47 people, including 28 in Jakarta, were killed in floods and landslides across the country, bringing the death toll to 50.

A number of landslides also occurred in South Malang, East Java on Sunday after storms continued without respite on Saturday.

However, no fatalities were reported but hundreds of houses were damaged in the landslides. Thousands of people have been evacuated to safe areas over the last two days.

In East Java, state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (PT KAI) canceled the departure of KA Angrek and KA Gumarang, trains from Surabaya to Jakarta due to several swamped sections of track in the province.

"We have forcibly taken the decision to avoid any accidents," Sudarsono, spokesman for PT KAI said in Surabaya on Monday.

The two trains were scheduled to leave for Jakarta at 7:40 p.m. and 9 p.m. respectively on Monday.

"Passengers are allowed to return their tickets and reschedule their departure to Jakarta and other cities in Central Java," Sudarsono said.

The highway between Probolinggo and Banyuwangi was paralyzed again following a mudslide that hit Mlandingan and Klatakan subdistricts in Situbondo Regency on Sunday.

Adj. Sr. Abdurrahman, chief of the traffic unit at the Situbondo Police Precinct, said the mudslide trapped dozens of motorists on Sunday.

"The mountainous areas in the subdistricts which have been converted into farmland are very prone to mudslides," he said.

At least one person was killed and more than 97 vehicles were trapped in mud on the same stretch of road in the regency last week.

In Semarang, Central Java, hundreds of passengers were stranded in the city's Tawang railway station following the cancellation of the departure of the Argo Muria train to Jakarta, also due to swamped tracks.

The passengers were waiting for the train which was scheduled to arrive in the city from Jakarta early on Monday morning. The train, however, was trapped between Comal and Pekalongan in the province.

In Pekalongan, more than 2,500 residents were evacuated to school buildings, mosques and government offices after the city was deluged on Sunday.

Some 20 trains, which were on their way to and from Jakarta, were stranded in Semarang and Cirebon, West Java, for around six hours because a number of railway tracks in the Pekalongan regency were not passable.

In Serang, Banten, a total of 50,000 people in 13 subdistricts in the province sought higher ground on Sunday.

Tangerang was the worst hit as the water reached two meters in places.

Governor Djoko Munandar and Deputy Governor Atut Chosiah visited all the effected subdistricts and distributed humanitarian relief to more than 250 families who occupied government offices, mosques and school buildings in the regency.

In Sangihe-Talaud, North Sulawesi, thousands of evacuees were still waiting for humanitarian assistance from the central government. Flooding there caused Rp 90 billion in material losses to the local administration and local people.

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, Mayor Syamsul Rijal, called on all subdistrict chiefs to activate post commands and to clean all water canals and drainage areas in the city to avoid any possible problems.

"All officials and residents should stay alert while cleaning the canals, reservoirs and rivers of debris in anticipation of heavy storms in the coming weeks," he said.