Illegal logging triggered Bahorok flood in North Sumatra: Walhi

Illegal logging triggered Bahorok flood in North Sumatra: Walhi

Soon after disaster strikes Indonesia and while emotions are
running high, a scapegoat is often sought, both by the government
and the public. By declaring the Nov. 2, flash flood a natural
disaster the government effectively washed its hands clean of its
far-reaching implications. Likewise, measures to avoid similar
disasters have been viewed as someone else's responsibility.

This is not unprecedented behavior. In the case of the
mudslide in Pacet, Modjokerto, East Java late last year, the
government blamed state-owned forestry company PT Perhutani. In
the Dec. 2002 flooding in Central Nias, the residents were blamed
for living in disaster-prone areas. The two disasters claimed
more than 200 lives.

After the Bahorok flood, the Indonesian Environment Forum
(Walhi) planned to file a lawsuit against the government,
outraged by its lack of action. Walhi believed the flood was
triggered by illegal logging in the nearby highlands of Gunung
(mount) Leuser National Park.

"According to our findings, the flash flood was caused by a
dam bursting upstream of Bahorok river." Walhi's coordinator in
Medan, North Sumatra, Herwin Nasution, told The Jakarta Post
recently.

Walhi activists uncovered strong evidence that the flood
resulted from the incapacity of the dam to hold rainwater after
three days of heavy downpour.

It is also alleged that the dam was used by illegal loggers to
store logs before they were transported downstream.
When the dam burst, the logs were spewed out bulldozing
everything, including the houses of the three ill-fated villages.
The dam was located 2,400 meters above sea level, the villages
situated 120 meters above sea level. Thus, the torrent of water
hit the villages at an almighty speed, activists say.

"Considering the high altitude, the thousands of logs held in
the 'ready-made dump' were enough to destroy all houses in the
three villages and kill many residents during the night of Nov.
2," Herwin said during a field tour with the Post in the area.
Houses were buried under uprooted trees and mounds of logs,
with diameters of between 50 centimeters and three meters, that
had been chainsawed and stripped.

Herwin said that there were indications that deforestation had
been going on for a long time. Young forests, rubber plantations
and felled trees were uncovered in the national park.

Local villagers said the path of the river had altered since
the 1980s.

"But, with the recent flood, the river's path had returned to
normal," said a 26-year-old survivor Misnan.

He said that the forest had been logged over the last two
years, but he was not sure whether the logging had been legal.

"Villagers and forest rangers have long been aware of the
rampant logging activities since the logs were transported down
the river after being pooled in the dam for several weeks," he
said.

Amiruddin, chief of the search and rescue (SAR) unit in Bukit
Lawang said he had apprehended several men suspected of illegal
logging in the past, but others had escaped to the nearby oil
palm plantation PT Perkebunan Sampurna Bangun.

Burhanuddin Rangkuti, the owner of Sibayak Leuser Hotel that
was destroyed by the flood suffered Rp 2.8 billion in losses. He
said that the first flood in Bahorok occurred in 1994 due to
illegal logging in the area. At that time, more big trees had
been left standing in the park and the flood had not had such a
devastating impact, he said.

He added that despite the recent tragedy, illegal logging
continued in the park.

The North Sumatra Meteorology and Geophysics (BMG) in Medan
has ruled out climatic factors in the disaster. The rainy season,
from November to January, brings massive downpour, as has always
been the case, it was claimed.

On the three days prior to the disaster rainfall in the
national park reached 110 millimeters daily, far higher than the
average rainfall of 400 millimeters monthly.

But Firman, a staff member of BMG at Polonia airport in Medan
said that this was not unusual, "It (the rainfall) has reached
such a high level in the past, but it has never triggered a flash
flood".

He said that prior to the flood "on our remote sensing image
Bahorok showed up red, indicating heavy rain. In a one hour
period, rainfall reached as high as between 400 millimeters and
100 millimeters. But in the past, similar indications had not
resulted in disaster."

Firman added that, besides Bahorok, high rainfall had been
reported in other areas such as Karo, Natal Mandailing and South
Tapanuli but no landslides nor flooding had occurred in those
regencies. -- JP