Indonesia: 16 landslides hit Gorontalo

Syamsul Huda M.Suhari The Jakarta Post 31 Jan 17;

Heavy rains poured down in Gorontalo province for a whole week last week, causing landslides in 16 spots in Bone Bolango regency on Monday.

The landslides began to hit Monday morning along the trans-Sulawesi highway, with the worst seen in the Olele, Oluhuta and Tolotio villages of Bone Bolango regency. “Some 50 kilometers of the road was covered in mud. But no casualties were reported,” said Gorontalo Disaster Mitigation Agency’s head of the logistics and emergency department Tahir Laendeng.

Bone Raya district head Mesalina Saputra said the landslide had destroyed the kitchen section of a house in Olele village. “Not far from there is a mining activity,” Mesalina said.

On Jan. 27, some 500 houses in seven districts in North Gorontalo regency were inundated due to long-lasting rains.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency has issued warnings that rains are expected to hit Gorontalo province until Feb. 1.


Rail services disrupted as floods hits Pasuruan
Antara 31 Jan 17;

Jember, E Java (ANTARA News) - Floods hit Pasuruan District, East Java, on Tuesday, disrupting the Mutiara Timur train connecting the Banyuwangi-Surabaya route and the Probowangi train serving the Surabaya-Banyuwangi route.

The Mutiara Timur train was halted at the Pasuruan station, while the Probowangi train at Bangil station, according to Luqman Arif, spokesman of the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia.

Floodwaters, reaching a height of around 20 centimeters, inundated areas between Pasuruan and Bangil.

The arrival of the Mutiara Timur train was delayed by some three hours, and Probowangi, by 77 minutes, due to the flooding.

The railway tracks, which were submerged, at the Bangil and Pasuruan stations are now passable, but the speed was restricted to five kilometers per hour.(*)