Disasters continue to claim lives in other provinces

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.