Rain brings with it new problems

JAKARTA (JP): The severe drought may be coming to an end, but Indonesians now have to contend with another problem -- heavy rain which causes flooding and landslides.

Heavy rain in many parts of the country in the past few days has caused a loss of livestock and traffic jams, Antara reported.

The news agency said Monday heavy rain hit Palembang in South Sumatra which over the past five months has been blanketed by smog. The downpour caused gridlock as water reached levels of 25 centimeters, flooding some of the town's main streets.

Drainage was ineffective as it was stuffed by garbage.

Mayor Husni told officers in his administration on the same day to be aware of the coming floods and to pay special attention to areas prone to flooding.

He called on his staff to work together with residents to clean up the drainage and sewage.

Meanwhile, in Bali, rain in the past few days has caused landslides in the regencies of Tabanan and Karangasem, killing at least five cows and destroying dozens of hectares of paddy fields, Antara reported Monday.

In Tabanan, 21 kilometers west of the capital Denpasar, landslides were reported to hit the subdistricts of Penebel, Pupuan and Kerambitan.

"We can't yet say how much we have lost from these landslides," a spokesman at the Tabanan regency administration told the news agency.

In the villages of Balongan, Mangesta, and Jatiluih of Peneben subdistrict, the landslides were reported to have also blocked traffic.

But it was only temporary and traffic returned to normal after hundreds of villagers worked together to clear up the road.

The news agency said the worst landslides occurred in the villages of Kesambi, Kesambahan, and Jatiluih where 300 square meters of paddy fields were destroyed.

Landslides in Gunungsari village in Penebel subdistrict demolished the house of a villager, I Nengah Kartika.

In Karangasem regency, in eastern Bali, hundreds of Hindu pilgrims on their way to Pasar Agung temple on Mt. Agung Saturday were blocked for some time by a landslide on the Yeh Sah hillside. The group had to take a longer, alternative route.

In South Sulawesi's capital, Ujungpandang, Minister of Health Sujudi warned yesterday against possible outbreaks of diarrhea and dengue during the monsoon season.

The Environmental Impact Management Agency said yesterday that 13 airports in Sumatra and Kalimantan which had been closed due to lingering haze have been reopened as visibility improves. (aan)