Antara 19 Dec 15;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has been hit by changing climates of extreme degree. Monsoon began to take toll on the country when it barely recovered from the devastating impact of lengthy drought.
Lengthy drought worsened by weather phenomenon El Nino inflicted heavy damage with big forest fires spewing thick smokes causing breathing difficulty and disrupting flight schedules.
Now, over the past two weeks report coming in from various regions about heavy rain triggered floods washing away buildings including houses and damaging crops.
Report from West Lombok said landslides buried alive people on Friday with four dead bodies recovered so far until Saturday.
In Aceh , five districts in the western part of the province were hit by floods. Houses were destroyed or washed away and landslides blocked roads isolating a number of villages.
The regional disaster control agency (BPBD) warned the local people of potential heavier rains causing worse damage.
Head of the West Aceh BPBD Endi Alfian said heavy rain continued to pour causing floods inundating 31 villages with water as deep as 70 to 150 centimeter in the sub-districts of Panton Reu, Pante Ceuremen, Kaway XVI, Woyla Timur, Meureubo, Bubon and Johan Pahlawan.
Many villagers had to take shelters in the house of friends and relatives in safer areas.
In Central Java, landslides hit and destroyed tens of houses in the district of Cilacap in southern part of the province.
Head of the Cilacap BPBD Tri Komara Sidhy said landslides in the village of Jambu, sub-district of Wanaredja damaged six houses.
Tri said 13 roads were cut or blocked with piles of earth in landslides.
A number of wooden bridges were smashed and washed away by big rolling water from hilly areas, he said.
BPBD , police and military officers cooperated with villagers to repair damaged houses and bridges, remove piles or earth and stones from roads.
Report from Lampung said heavy rain has caused landslides in four locations along the Krui-Liwa highway of the district of West Pesisir.
"The landslides closed the road over the past several days. It took at least four hours to clear the road from piles of earth, uprooted trees and big rocks," a police office said last week.
West Lampung police chief Adj. Sr. Comr Andi Kemala said 30 kilometers of the Krui-Liwa highway were right on the hill foot that landslides could block the road any time in rainy days.
"Car drivers or motorists are warned to watch out," he said.
He said the district administration has been ready with heavy equipment to clear the road.
In West Java, the Citarum river overflowed its banks sending water to inundate the villages in that area.
The Cimeunteng village , in the regency of Bandung had been covered with flood water over the past week.
The village has always been the first to be hit by floods in rainy season, a villager Bukhori said on Tuesday.
"We have no intention of leaving our house. We have been used to flooding. We go up upstairs waiting until the flooding in over," he said.
He said last week the flooding was worse with water surface as high as two meters.
He said in the past floods came only once a year but now the village is hit by flooding twice a year.
"Many families have abandoned the village, but many other including us decided to stay as we have no place to go, " he said.
He said the population of the village has been reduced to 500 from around 1,000 a few earlier.
Those staying in the villages are ready with wooden boat to be used in case of flooding that come suddenly, he said.
(Uu.H-ASG/F001)
BMKG warns of La Niña for 2016
The Jakarta Post 19 Dec 15;
JAKARTA: The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) warned on Friday that the country could experience another episode of extreme weather caused by La Niña.
BMKG spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the La Niña weather phenomenon, which could cause flooding, landslides and gales, would peak in the middle of 2016. “So the potential for floods, landslides and gales will increase during that period,” Sutopo said as quoted by kompas.com.
He said at least 315 regencies and municipalities were expected to experience flooding, affecting more than 63.7 million people.
Landslides will pose risks to 274 regencies and municipalities.
Earlier this year, the country experienced the El Niño weather phenomenon, which experts said was one of the worst in history.
The severe weather phenomenon caused drought and forest and peatland fires throughout the country.
