More disasters

More disasters
likely to follow

The fourth week of November this year has seen more intense
rainfall across the archipelago, meaning that annual natural
disasters are waiting. Everyone, especially the central as well
as regional governments, are reminded to be watchful.

The first and significant catastrophe occurred when a Lion Air
passenger jet skidded off a slippery runway in a heavy rain and
slammed into a cemetery at the Surakarta Adisumarmo airport on
Nov. 30.

The normal natural disasters such as flooding and landslides
have also begun taking place. Hundreds of residents of Pekanbaru
(Riau province) had to abandon their homes on Nov. 29 after
floodwaters rose to a height of one meter in several parts of the
city. In Dairi regency, North Sumatra, a landslide took the life
of one person and a number of houses were damaged in a landslide
in Jember regency, East Java (The Jakarta Post, Nov. 30).

The Lion Air plane crash could have been averted if the pilot
had, in consultation with officials in the airport tower, made a
decision to land at another nearby airport, for instance in
Yogyakarta, when he saw the heavy rain had made it impossible to
land. This tragedy should serve as a bitter lesson for other
pilots to be more careful during the rainy season.

As for the flooding and landslides, one might remember the
Nov. 2 flash flood that hit the North Sumatra resort of Langkat,
killing over 100 people and leaving hundreds more missing. The
root cause of these disasters is known to all, i.e. environmental
damage especially as a result of illegal logging.

The administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has
vowed to use his first 100 days in office to crack down on
illegal loggers as well as corrupt officials.

In the meantime, this year's rainy season has just started and
there are at least three more months to come. Heavy downpours
must be anticipated in disaster-prone areas, including in
Jakarta. All officials must be on full alert to prevent any
catastrophes, otherwise the ordinary people will be left to
suffer even more.

M. RUSDI
Jakarta