FLOOD. LANDSLIDE DISASTERS REMAIN DOMINANT IN INDONESIA by Fardah

    Jakarta, Jan 31, 2014 (Antara) -  Indonesia only has two seasons - rainy and dry. The rainy season usually starts in November and ends in March, while the dry season begins in June and normally ends in October.

         Currently, a number of provinces are experiencing flooding and landslides as the peak of the rainy season falls between January and March.  
    Around 75 percent of natural disasters in Indonesia are hydro-meteorological ones, such as flooding, landslides, drought and whirlwinds.

         With increasing environmental degradation and climate change, the frequency of natural disasters striking Indonesia tends to increase each year,  according to data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

         During 2003, for instance, the country recorded 266 floods and landslides, with the number increasing to 822 in 2013, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman of the BNPB, recently said.

         During the past 11 years (2003-2013), the total number of floods and landslides was 6,288, an average of 572 per year. The highest record was in 2010 when Indonesia witnessed 1,433 floods and landslides.

         These natural disasters displaced 1.5 million people and killed 5,650 inhabitants during this period, or an average of 514 people died every year due to floods and landslides throughout Indonesia.

         Floods and landslides are mainly triggered by relatively high precipitation during the rainy season. Other factors triggering the disasters are degradation of river basin areas, forests and littering.
    According to BNBP, 60.9 million people live in Indonesia's 315 districts and cities that are prone to floods, while 124 million live in 270 districts and cities that are prone to landslides.

         Just during this first month of 2014, through January 27, some 137 people died and 1.1 million were displaced due to flooding and landslides in Indonesia.   In Jakarta, through January 30, floods claimed 23 people.
    The BNPB's preliminary data showed that 182 hydro-meteorological disasters, such as floods, landslides and whirlwinds, occurred from January 1 to 27, 2014.

         Besides the losses of life and displaced people, 1,234 house were damaged, 273 moderately and 2,586 lightly damaged.   Infrastructure, agricultural lands and other properties also sustained damage from the extreme weather.

         "Most of the deaths were caused by landslides, such as in Kudus (Central Java Province), Manado and Tomohon (North Sulawesi), and Jombang (East Java)," Sutopo said.

         Regarding the economic impact of the disasters, he said the losses due to flash floods in Manado and Tomohon reached around Rp1.87 trillion, while damages from floods in Jakarta could reach one trillion rupiahs.

         He estimated that losses from the disasters in Indonesia could be as high as Rp30 trillion. "This is apart from other large
disasters," he added.

         It is not just floods and landslides, but Indonesia is also prone to other natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, droughts, tsunamis and forest fires.

         Being located in the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire" of volcanoes and earthquakes, Indonesia was hit by 363 earthquakes (above 3.6 on the Richter scale) from January to December 10, 2012, according to the BNPB.

         Due to its geographical, geological and demographic condition, Indonesia can be considered a `Laboratory of Disasters.¿
    Sutopo said, however, that the budget for dealing with disasters was still relatively small, especially for the Regional Disaster Mitigation Offices (BPBD), compared to total regional budgets.

         He cited, as an example, that for responding to natural disasters during 2014, Jakarta has allocated only Rp18 billion out of the total city budget of Rp72 trillion.

         Sutopo said, "The national budget average for BPBD is smaller than 0.1 percent of the regional budget. This will certainly affect disaster mitigation efforts."
    Meanwhile, Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Al Jufri said his ministry allocated Rp400 billion in funds to aid victims of natural disasters throughout Indonesia.

         "Around 80 percent of the relief aid is in the form of physical equipment, such as rubber boats and emergency tents, while 20 percent is logistical supplies, such as food," Al Jufri  said recently.

         This aid is distributed through natural disaster response teams in every region, he added.

         When recently visiting flood victims in Kerawang, West Java, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for the maximum use of local resources in handling natural disasters in various regions in the country.

         "My instruction is clear. First, make use of the existing logistics and local resources and later, if aid is needed from the central government, it will be extended," he said.

         The President stated that cooperation between the central and local governments in handling natural disasters must be adequate enough to assure better management. ***3***
(f001/INE/B003)