Torrential rains throughout Indonesia since mid-December have caused numerous landslides in central Java and extensive flooding in most of Java, West Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara, and killed over 100 people in all. Rescue efforts are still under way and the final death toll is yet to be determined.
Landslides struck nine villages in Karanganyar District, central Java, on 26 December. The National Coordination Board for Disaster Management (BAKORNAS PB) said 65 people had been killed, with media reports putting the figure as high as 75.
The evacuation and rescue process in all affected areas is being jointly conducted by the military (TNI), the police, the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS PB), the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and international and local agencies and volunteers.
Emergency assistance - including food and drinking water, medical assistance and setting up centres for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and/or emergency tents - is being coordinated by regional and local disaster operational management divisions. PMI has dispatched hygiene kits, tarpaulins, tents and other non-food items to the affected areas.
Heavy equipment arriving
Roads to the Karanganyar area had been cut off and the first heavy duty equipment to assist in the rescue and recovery effort began arriving on 26 December. Villagers and rescuers there had been using their bare hands in a frantic attempt to recover bodies often buried deep beneath the mud.
Mohammad Abdullah, chief of Bencana Alam’s district coordination unit for disaster management, told IRIN in a phone interview: “The mud is very thick, but we are working in good spirits.” He said heavy equipment arrived there on 27 December and had really helped the recovery effort. He also said that due to continued heavy rain an additional six landslides had occurred in the district.
Landslides also occurred in the adjacent district of Wonogiri, in central Java, where seven people were reported killed and 10 were still missing.
Extensive flooding in central Java
Days of unrelenting rain and the overflow from the Bengawan Solo river have also caused extensive flooding in most part of Surakarta City, known as Solo, in Central Java Province. Some 6,616 homes were inundated and the water level rose as high as two metres in most parts of the city. The flooding also stopped trains from running on the northern route from Jakarta to Surabaya.
“I think this is one of the worst disasters ever to have happened in Solo,” Astri, a catering service owner in Surakarta City, who has been helping displaced persons in a field kitchen, told IRIN by phone. “I could actually see the water rise rapidly, especially when two gates of the Gajah Mungkur dam were opened,” he said, adding: “We were warned months ago [by experts from the University of Sebelas Maret] of the possibility of flooding because of chronic deforestation in the area.” According to Astri, there had not been a major flood in the area since 1966. “Solo never has any floods,” he said, “so basically we were caught off-guard.”
Flooding since 26 December also inundated over 400 houses in Pekalongan District, central Java, forcing an estimated 15,000 people to evacuate.
Roads, train service cut
In Ngawi, in East Java, flooding has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes and another 1,000 or so were being evacuated in Jombang, East Java. Many roads and train services from Surabaya to Jogyakarta have been cut off.
On 25 December, unrelenting rains and the overflow of the River Amprong in East Java inundated 111 houses. The water level rose so rapidly, up to two metres, that many people were unable to save their belongings, according to BAKORNAS PB and media reports.
In Madiun District, East Java, about 40 people were swept away during flooding there. “They had gone to the bridge to watch and did not realise the danger,” Dedi, who was there helping to recover the victims, told IRIN. “Before they realised it, water from the swollen river underneath them swept them away.”
Thousands affected in Padang City
Flooding has also occurred in recent days in Padang City and Pesisir Selatan District in West Sumatra Province. Thousands of people have been affected in Padang City, according to BAKORNAS PB and regional and local disaster officials, and to date one person has been reported killed and two missing.
In West Sumbawa District in West Nusa Tenggara Province, 12,000 people have been affected by flooding although no casualties have been reported.
In terms of international response, various agencies have responded, including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which has dispatched an assessment team to the Karanganyar area, Church World Service (CWS), Catholic Relief Service (CRS), Hope Worldwide and Oxfam-GB, which have been delivering non-food items. The UN office of the resident and humanitarian coordinator in Indonesia continues to monitor the situation.
According to the Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysical Agency (BMG), heavy rain is expected to continue throughout Indonesia until 30 December.
ea/bj/cb
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
