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