Rain brings with it new problems

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)