Perhapi Prepares Recommendations to Government on Garoga Floods in North Sumatra
Editor
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Indonesian Mining Experts Association (Perhapi) is preparing recommendations to the government regarding the controversy over the impact of mining operations on floods and landslides in the Garoga area, North Sumatra, which occurred in November 2025.
The recommendations are drawn from scientific studies as well as discussions among mining experts and geospatial researchers who discussed the causes of the disaster and its relation to industrial activity in the area.
Perhapi’s General Chairman Sudirman Widhy Hartono said that decisions regarding the continuation of mining operations should refer to comprehensive scientific studies.
‘Every decision on the continuation of mining operations must be based on in-depth studies,’ Sudirman said in a statement on Saturday 7 March 2026.
‘Validation by experts is aimed at ensuring that any policy taken by the government is based on scientific facts (science-based policy) and can inform the government’s decision-making,’ he added.
The forum was attended by mining experts and the Centre for Analysis and Applying Geospatial Information (CENAGO) of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), which presented the results of forensic disaster studies based on geospatial analysis.
In the discussion, experts noted that the floods and landslides that affected several regions in Sumatra in November 2025 were mainly triggered by extreme weather anomalies that exceeded the normal design thresholds of national infrastructure mitigation.
Based on hydrological and geospatial data discussed in the forum, the contribution of industrial activity to flood events was considered very small.
Conversely, the presence of technical infrastructure in the mining operation areas was said to function as a barrier to runoff, helping to reduce the discharge before it flows to downstream areas.
According to Irwandy, technical infrastructure such as drainage systems and settling ponds proved to act as vital water barriers that help contain runoff within the operational area before it is released in a controlled manner.
He also explained that hydrologically and morphologically, the location of the Martabe Gold Mine is separate from the areas affected by the flash floods. From the water flow system and landform conditions, the mine’s location is not within the same system as the flood-affected area in the Garoga watershed.