November 26, 2024
JAKARTA – At least 11 people died and one other went missing over the weekend as hydrometeorological disasters, including flash floods and landslides, hit a number of regions in North and West Sumatra.
In West Java, meanwhile, persistent extreme weather over the past month has claimed six lives and affected thousands.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the disasters in Sumatra began in Lima Puluh Kota regency, West Sumatra, at around 1 a.m on Saturday. Flash floods carrying chunks of wood, mud and rocks swept through three districts and destroyed eight houses.
The body of one man was found 10 kilometers from his residence, while another person was still missing as of Monday evening.
“We urge the people of Limapuluh Kota regency to be alert to the potential for subsequent flooding. The public is advised to temporarily stay away and not carry out activities in the river to avoid [further disasters],” said BNPB spokesman Abdul Muhari.
He added that if high-intensity rain lasted for more than an hour, people living in hilly, landslide-prone areas or near rivers were advised to evacuate to a safer place.
Some 366 kilometers away from Lima Puluh Kota, also in the early morning of Saturday, a similar disaster occurred in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, following heavy rains that began Friday night, leaving two people dead.
Later on that day, eight more people reportedly died in two separate hydrometeorological disasters in North Sumatra.
A family of four, including a 7-year-old and a 5-month-old, passed away after a landslide hit their residence in Harang Julu village, Padang Lawas regency, at around 3 p.m.
Hours later, flash floods swept away a village in Sibolangit district, Deli Serdang regency, resulting in the deaths of four people, including a 3-year-old. Two others were still missing as of Monday afternoon.
The West Java Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has recorded 181 hydrometeorological disasters across 27 cities and regencies in the region since the start of November. Apart from the six deaths and scores of evacuees, floods, landslides and puting beliung (whirlwinds) also wreaked havoc on thousands of houses and hundreds of public facilities.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has urged the public to remain on alert for extreme weather in the coming months, particularly during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The peak of the rainy season is expected to last until February of next year.
The current La Niña weather phenomenon could increase accumulated precipitation in Indonesia by up to 40 percent this season, meaning heavier rainfall in several parts of the archipelago, BMKG head Dwikorita said in a statement on Saturday.
Other atmospheric dynamics, she added, would increase the intensity and volume of rainfall across the country, including the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) and the Cold Surge, moving from Siberia on the Asian mainland toward western Indonesia.
“We urge the public to stay alert to the potential for extreme weather that can lead to hydrometeorological disasters, such as floods, flash floods and landslides, especially during the Christmas and New Year period,” Dwikorita said.