Massive floods to hit North Sumatra, experts warn

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

Weather and environmental experts and officials have warned people in North Sumatra to be ready for possible flooding and landslides across the province this month.

Head of the provincial forestry office, Prie Supriadi, said on Tuesday that because of deforestation, floods and landslides would be unavoidable if the province experienced heavy rains.

"Almost all of the towns and cities in North Sumatra are vulnerable to erosion and floods because our forests can no longer absorb the rain," he told The Jakarta Post.

Prie called on all residents in the province, particularly those living in the areas most prone to flooding and landslides, to increase their level of alertness during the rainy season, which is expected to peak in February.

Firman, head of the Medan-based Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, echoed the possibility of massive flooding in North Sumatra this month, given that rainfall levels are above normal.

Rainfall levels in several areas in the province are above the normal average of between 100 millimeters and 400 millimeters, while flooding is a danger with rainfall levels of just 50 millimeters, he said.

"Flooding is a risk in western coastal areas, where the intensity of rainfall is very high, reaching between 200 and 400 millimeters. In the eastern parts of the country, rainfalls levels are only between 100 millimeters and 200 millimeters," Firman said.

He also called on local residents to prepare to evacuate their homes in the eventuality of flooding.

Prie pointed to the acute destruction of forests in North Sumatra to support his prediction of widespread flooding in the near future.

The province's deforestation has reached alarming levels, with the damage extending to more than one million of North Sumatra's 3.6 million hectares of forests, he said.

Herwin Nasution, the executive director of the North Sumatra branch of Walhi, an environmental group, said only about one million hectares of forest in North Sumatra was still healthy, while the rest had been severely damaged or destroyed by illegal logging.

He said illegal logging, allegedly involving local officials, was continuing unchecked in the province, including the districts of Mandailing Natal, South Tapanuli, Langkat, Karo and Dairi.

Many of the looted logs are smuggled to Malaysia through Tanjung Balai harbor, Herwin said, adding that more than 800 tons of illegal logs are shipped out of North Sumatra every day aboard at least two vessels.

"Over the next three years, floods could sink North Sumatra if our security authorities do not take immediate action to halt the illegal logging," he said.

Deforestation has been blamed for flooding and landslides in several parts of Indonesia.

At least 21 people were killed on Jan. 28 when a landslide buried houses in Garut regency, West Java. Three days later, 10 more people died in a landslides that swept through the nearby town of Kuningan.

In December, at least 26 people were killed when mud and rocks buried the Pacet hot springs in Mojokerto regency, East Java.

Experts have said East Java, West Java and Sumatra are the provinces most vulnerable to floods and landslides due to rampant deforestation and unstable soil.