More disasters feared as year moves forward
More disasters feared as year moves forward
JAKARTA (JP): The year 1996 is just three months old. But in that time the capital and its hinterland have already experienced a horrifyingly large number of major crimes, accidents and tragedies. Many lives have been lost and a huge amount of material losses have been recorded.
It seems that predictions by local psychics and soothsayers that 1996 would be worse than 1995 might well prove to be correct.
Late last year, four top local psychics -- Ki Ageng Selo, Anton Rudolf Nico, Ki Gendeng Pamungkas and Permadi -- predicted that this year would be worse than 1995.
"More serious tragedies and accidents affecting more victims will take place in the next few months," Permadi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
"These kinds of distressing events will happen until the year 1997," he said.
In Jakarta and surrounding areas, a series of floods, fires, traffic accidents, robberies and rapes have happened with dozens of people affected.
Selo previously predicted that there would be more road accidents this year while the number of floods and fires would increase by 50 percent.
Anton prophesied that a huge dam in West Java would break and the water will flood Jakarta and its vicinity.
Pamungkas, a self-declared black magician, predicted that the number of crimes will double this year compared to last year.
Psychics
What has happened in Indonesia, as far as calamities and tragedies are concerned, in the first three months, has proved beyond any doubt that the psychics, so far, have got it right.
Massive floods struck the capital in January and February killing at least 30 people and causing total material losses of about Rp 90 billion (US$39 million). The floods, said to be the worst to hit the capital since 1976, have also damaged hundreds of houses.
Fires in and around the city have claimed dozens of lives, causing billions of rupiah in losses and leaving hundreds of families homeless.
Traffic accidents also reached a new level when victims were burned to death inside buses. So far there have been two serious cases of bus passengers being burned to death, affecting no less than 36 casualties, while dozens of others were seriously injured.
The first accident occurred on the Merak-Jakarta highway in the early hours of March 5 when a bus heading from Merak to Jakarta turned over and exploded, killing six passengers, including a child, and injured 37 others.
The second happened on the Jagorawi toll road when a Kramatdjati Jakarta-Bandung bus hit a jeep and burst into flames, killing 31 people, including 28 passengers.
In terms of robbery-rape cases, a new trend in Bekasi has emerged with a spate of such crimes in recent weeks.
It only remains to be seen what the rest of the year will bring. Watch this space if your crystal ball is not up to scratch! (bsr)