Flood, landslides to hit 32 towns

Flood, landslides to hit 32 towns

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With more heavy rains expected to fall, the government warned on Wednesday that flooding and landslides would occur within the next week in 32 regencies and municipalities in Java, southern Sumatra, Kalimantan, and southern and southeastern Sulawesi.

State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim said flooding and landslides in the period between Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 were predicted based on the appearance and movement of clouds and rainfall across the country.

"Thus, we must be ready for the flooding and landslides that will come soon at local and regional levels," Nabiel said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.

Regencies and municipalities that face a likelihood of both floods and landslides are: South Lampung, Lampung; Lebak in Banten; Bandung regency; Bandung municipality; the West Java towns of Ciamis, Cirebon, Indramayu, Purwakarta, Sukabumi, Sumedang and Tasikmalaya; and the Central Java towns of Banyumas, Semarang and Magelang.

Those areas prone to landslides are: Pandeglang, Banten province; the West Java regencies of Cianjur, Garut, Kuningan; the Central Java regencies of Subang, Sragen, Kendal and Purwodadi; the Yogyakarta regencies of Sleman and Kulonprogo; the East Java regencies of Tulungagung and Malang; and the South Sulawesi regencies of Bone and Gowa.

The two regencies of West Kotawaringin and East Kotawaringin, as well as the municipality of Palangkaraya, all in Central Kalimantan, have a high chance of flooding.

The minister's office, however, did not include Jakarta among the disaster-prone areas, despite the fact that the capital city has always flooded during the rainy season.

Nabiel called on the local governments and the residents in these areas to take necessary measures in the face of the coming disasters.

People in those areas must increase their alertness against the disasters, particularly between nightfall and dawn, he said.

He expected the warning could prevent more victims to the natural disasters, as recent floods and landslides claimed dozens of lives and destroyed numerous public facilities.

Floods have hit some parts of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. The latest flood in Bengkulu on Tuesday left three people dead and four missing, while landslides in the West Java towns of Garut and Kuningan last week killed over 30 people.

The recent disasters in some parts of the country were mostly caused by severe environmental destruction as a result of illegal logging and the mismanagement of forest concessions.

However, no parties have yet been held responsible for the disasters, nor for the ensuing loss of human life and damage to property.