IRIN
INDONESIA: Evacuation, rescue efforts under way after landslides, flooding
28 December 2007


JAKARTA, 28 December 2007 (IRIN) - 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.


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