PEOPLE WARNED OF DISASTERS DURING WET DRY SEASON

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 19 (Antara) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has warned the people of possible natural disasters such as floods, landslides and whirlwinds during the wet dry season.          High intensity of rainfall is expected to take place in Indonesia in the coming several months as a result of the La Nina weather phenomenon.          According to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the head of the Data and Information Center of the BNPB, most parts of Indonesia should have entered the dry season period. Drought should have taken place since mid June this month.          However, rain with high intensity still often falls. The La Nina weather phenomenon will be detected clearly in July, August and September this year. It will have impact on the increase in rainfall during the dry season.          Thus, this year's dry season is a wet dry season given the fact that during the dry season the intensity of rainfall is still high.

JAKARTA INTENSIFIES FLOOD-FIGHTING EFFORTS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 25 (Antara) - Last week's floods that forced the evacuation of over 17,500 people in Jakarta could just be the beginning of a series of floods that might hit the capital city this rainy season, just like every year.          "It has been predicted that more floods will hit Jakarta because the city and its surrounding areas are still receiving heavy rainfall," Endang Achdiat, the head of the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), said on Monday.          As the threat of another flood looms over Jakarta due to the unrelenting rains that continue to hit the capital city, Endang expressed hope that residents in low-lying areas would remain alert.          Earlier, the Governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, urged all staff members to accurately anticipate floods in several areas of the city.          "I have asked them, especially Jakarta's Department of Public Works, to analyze and survey community units that are prone to flooding," he noted.          According to Purnama, floods can be handled properly and anticipated well in time through analysis and data collection.          "If we are already aware of areas prone to flooding, we can quickly anticipate them and distribute aid," he affirmed.

GOVT STILL TAKING STOCK OF FLOOD-AFFECTED RICE FIELDS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 26 (Antara) - The current floods that have displaced many residents or forced them to evacuate in different parts of Indonesia, have also caused considerable damage to the country's rice fields.          However the Ministry of Agriculture has predicted that on the national scale the floods only affected about one percent of the country's irrigated rice fields which totaled 7.23 million hectares.          Agriculture Minister Suswono said last week his ministry had yet to receive complete and official reports on the acreage of damaged rice farms due to floods this month. The ministry, he said, is still taking stock of damaged plantation to know width of damaged rice fields and identify those which required replanting.          "Rice fields categorized as having failed to give harvestable yields are only about 0.6-0.7 percent," the minister pointed out.

FLOODS RETURN TO JAKARTA ON SUNDAY

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 19 (Antara) - As predicted by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), floods returned to the Capital City Jakarta on Sunday with waters inundating many road sections and cut off traffic.         Sunday's floods followed those on Saturday which were caused by heavy rains on Friday night and by flood waters sent down from upstream areas in Bogor and Puncak mountainous areas in West Java.         The BMKG has predicted that the floods will return to Jakarta on Sunday as Saturday night heavy rains would again pour the capital city.  "The rain intensity tonight, based on the weather forecast, will be the same as last night," BMKG Chief Mulyono Prabowo stated here on Saturday.         The expected heavy rains will fall in Central and South Jakarta, the BMKG chief pointed out, saying the weather forecast also predicted medium to heavy rains in the coming days. "After that, the rain will slow and is forecast to end early in March," he said.          Incessant rains pouring Jakarta since Saturday until early hours on Sunday created floods and cut off the traffic in several sections of roads in Jakarta.          The Traffic Management Center (TMC) of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police said on its twitter account on Sunday that the road sections flooded by waters were, among others, Jalan Letjen Suprapto and Jalan Yos Sudarso. The flood waters in the two roads were about 40 to 50 cm deep.          The authorities temporarily closed the lower lane of the Kamal Toll road at Km 24 (to and from Soekarno-Hatta airport), redirecting the traffic to the elevated lane of the toll road.          A 70cm deep water also flooded the Halim Toll road at km 00.200 toward the Tanjung Priok direction.          Northern parts of the capital city, such as Kapuk Muara, Kampung Bandan, Teluk Gong and Kramat Koja were also reported to be flooded with waters reaching 40-60 cm deep.          Jalan Tipar Timur in West Semper was swamped with flood waters at a height of about 90 cm.

JAKARTA PLANS CONCRETE ACTIONS TO SOLVE PROBLEM OF FLOODS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 22 (ANTARA) - The central government and the Jakarta administration have come up with a number of concrete steps to solve the problem of floods.         There are several projects, including the construction of a spillway, to divert excess water from the Ciliwung River to a flood canal, which will reduce the impact of floods in the future. The projects will be completed by either 2017 or 2018. The total cost of the projects is Rp6.9 trillion.         Six steps will be undertaken by the government to solve the problem of floods.  One of the major projects is the construction of a waterway which will link the Ciliwung River to the East Flood Canal.         The Ciliwung River, which is one of the 13 rivers running through Jakarta, overflowed on Thursday, resulting in floods in Jakarta.          The West Flood Control and the East Flood Control canals were unable to stop the floods from inundating Jakarta.         "If the Ciliwung River overflows in the future, some of the water has to be diverted to the East Flood Control Canal," said the Public Works Minister, Djoko Kirmanto, on Monday.

JAKARTA CAN SAY GOODBYE TO FLOODS, SAYS EXPERT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 18 (ANTARA) - Jakarta was hit by a major flood on Thursday, which nearly crippled the capital city's life, causing the death of at least 14 people and halting hundreds of buses, trains and factories.          The capital city experiences floods each year, but Thursday's flooding was part of Jakarta's latest series in the five-year major flood cycle.          This week's flooding was described by Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo as being worse than flooding during the previous five-year flooding cycle in 2007, which claimed the lives of 80 residents.          This annual natural disaster has caused headaches to the Jakarta administration since time immemorial. The easiest scapegoat to blame are Jakarta residents who dispose of  refuse at will.          But can't the capital city be freed from annual floods? Jakarta can virtually say goodbye to floods if the administration is serious about solving the problem, according to an expert.          "To cut off the chain of the flood cycle, there are at least five steps the Jakarta government should take," Nirwono Yoga of Trisakti University said on Friday.          The five steps consisted of developing water catchment areas, improving the Jakarta master plan, revitalizing primary and secondary gutters, increasing the number of dams in upstream areas and normalizing the function of 13 rivers crisscrossing the city.

BUSINESSES CALL FOR GOVT PROTECTION FROM FLOODS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 18 (ANTARA) - Thursday's flooding in Jakarta, the second worst after the one in 2007 which killed 80 residents and caused a loss of Rp4.3 trillion, prompted business makers to call for government protection of businesses from floods.          "Jakarta as a capital city is the show window of Indonesia's business. The government must give a priority to the handling of floods and their impact so that Indonesia would not get bad image in the eyes of investors," Sofjan Wanandi, the chairman of the Indonesian businessmen Association (Apindo), said on Friday.          He said such a flood would become the focus of world attention. After all, the flooding reached the State Palace on Thursday when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Their meeting had to be rescheduled due to the flood.

JAKARTA ON 10-DAY FLOOD EMERGENCY ALERT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 17 (ANTARA) - Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Thursday declared a 10-day emergency alert, until January 27, following major floods that almost completely paralyzed daily life in the capital city.          The floods hit almost all parts of Jakarta, creating serious traffic jams, delaying important meetings, stopping the operations of commuter trains, closing busways and causing the evacuation of more than 60,000 residents.           "Based on information from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG), rain intensity will still be high until next week. Therefore, we issued a 10-day emergency alert as an anticipatory step," Jokowi told the press at the City Hall.           The flooding over the past three days was at its worst on Thursday when office and daily activities in Jakarta were almost completely paralyzed. Based on the data collected from the Jakarta Police's Traffic Management Centre (TMC), the areas inundated by floodwaters include roads in East Jakarta, Central Jakarta and West Jakarta.

JAKARTANS ASKED TO REMAIN ON THE ALERT AS FLOODS SPREAD

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 16 (ANTARA) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has urged Jakartans to remain on the alert, as the floods that hit Jakarta over the past two days and caused the evacuation of at least 9,374 residents in various parts of the capital city, have not yet receded.          "Heavy downpours in Puncak on Wednesday morning and noon drastically raised the water volume and level of the Ciliwung river upstream. At 11 am, the water level of the Katulampa sluice reached 70 cm (level III alert) but at 12 am, it increased to 170 cm, due to which the alert status  was raised to level II," the BNPB's Head of Data and Information, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said here on Wednesday.          He urged Jakarta residents to remain on the alert because the flood waters were unlikely to recede anytime soon. Besides, Nugroho added, the situation could get worse as there was heavy rainfall in the upstream areas of Bogor and Puncak and more flood waters could hit Jakarta on Wednesday night.

JAKARTANS ON THE ALERT FOR FLOODS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 15 (ANTARA) - The Jakarta regional government has asked its residents to be ready for possible widespread flooding in various parts of the capital city, particularly for flash floods from the mountainous areas of Puncak and Bogor that saw incessant rainfall on Tuesday.          The Jakarta Natural Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD DKI) said it was ready to tackle flooding from the Katulampa sluice, the major sluice gate through which floodwaters from Bogor flow in to Jakarta.          "We have established integrated flood monitoring posts, such as the one in the Sports Hall in Jalan Otista, in East Jakarta," BPBD DKI head Iwan Samosir said here on Tuesday.          Other than Otista, the agency has also set up a number of emergency posts, such as the health service post in the Bidara Cina district and another one near Budi Aish Hospital.          BPBD DKI will also work together with the Public Order Security Agency (Satpol PP) to evacuate victims. Up to now, there are some 650 flood evacuees at the Jatinegara healthcare post in East Jakarta.          Deputy head of Jatinegara subdistrict, Manson, stated that two villages, Kampung Melayu and Kelurahan Bidara Cina, have been affected by floods in East Jakarta.

FLOODS BEGIN TO AFFECT VARIOUS PARTS OF INDONESIA

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 27 (ANTARA)  - In the run-up to the end of the year this week, the on-going rainy season has begun to trigger floods in various parts of Indonesia such as in Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and Kalimantan.          The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned that flash floods may happen in various vulnerable areas in the country, including Jakarta at the end of the year.          "There is snowstorm in Hong Kong where pressures on the earth surface will rise by 10 millibars, creating dry weather," Head of BMKG for climate change affairs Dr Edvin Aldrian told a discussion over the weekend.          He said that flash floods like that in Jakarta in 2007 could take place again in the capital city in January which could be detected by the advent of the cold surge or the Siberia winds blowing from the north to the south.          The cold surge factor will put enough pressures on Jakarta from the sea and from the atmosphere when local rains fall incessantly.  This will be worsened by the Maden Julian Oscillation (MJO) phenomenon.          "The MJO is now changing to the wet phase which would increase water gas. Cold surge usually causes disasters if it comes at the same time as the arrival of the MJO phase," Edvin said.          Therefore, he warned that flash floods might hit the country, particularly Jakarta, at the end of the year or early in January.         Although significant flash floods have yet to take place in the capital city, flood waters have hit many areas in Indonesian islands such as Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and Kalimantan.          In Riau province in Sumatra for example, floods inundated seven villages comprising 1,151 houses in Kampar Kiri subdistrict, Kampar district on Monday as a result of incessant rain that caused three rivers to overflow their banks.         "Besides inundating residential areas and houses, the floods also inundated village offices, school buildings, plantations and other people's properties," Kampar Kiri subdistrict head Febrinaldi said.  The three rivers that overflowed their banks were the Subayang river, the Setingkai and the Seingingi river.         The floods in Riau have of late affected 1,151 houses, 1,283 families, 5,017 residents, 611 hectares of farmland, 184 hectares of agricultural land and 245 hectares of animal husbandry land.          The water surface of the Musi River in South Sumatra province has also increased affecting locals who reside at river bank areas over the past one week. Local resident Dani (36) of Ulu Laut village, Ulu Seberang sub district, Palembang, said residents in the river bank areas had been affected since in the last one week.          In the Bandung district, West Java, a legislator called on the local government to comprehensively solve the flood problem that occurred in the areas between the district of Sumedang and Bandung, so that it would not create new problem with the spatial planning.          "It should not be settled only partially," Cecep Suhendar of the Bandung district?s Legislative Assembly (DPRD) said.          He said the rain-triggered floods had taken place because a number of rivers in the area such as the Citarik, Jatinangor and other steams overflowed their banks because they could not accommodate the water volumes due to silting.          In Central Java, a flash flood swept through  Windurejo village in Pekalongan district on Monday evening, leaving at least 14 houses seriously damaged. The flash flood occurred after a hill near the Gondok River collapsed, causing it to overflow and engulf nearby residences. The flood also inundated hundreds of other houses in the village.          By Monday night, heavy rains continued to fall in a number of areas in the district, forcing residents living in flood-hit areas to evacuate to higher ground. Chief of the Pekalongan police resort Adj Comr Habif said police, along with local people were trying to evacuate the affected people in the village.          Tens of other houses were also affected by floods as their areas were submerged by waters in Telang Housing Complex, Kamal sub district, Bangkalan, Madura, East Java, on Monday.         "The water in my house is knee-deep," said Bety Wirandini, a resident who was affected by the flood said. Bety who is also a member of the executive board of the Islamic Students Association of East Java said that the floods occurred because the sewage system did not function well.          Other areas in East Java affected by floods included those in Sidoarjo district such as Sidokare and its surroundings and Pucang Sidarjo. Dwi Retno, a resident in Sidokare said that rain had fallen over the past few days while rivers could not accommodate the water volume as a result of river erosion and silting.          In the meantime, floods also hit a number of areas in Sulawesi and Kalimantan. In South Sulawasi,  rain showered the capital city of Makassar creating water inundation in a number of points with a water depth reaching the thigh-deep level.         The Bung Housing complex and the Hamzi BTN housing which are situated near the Tallo River which overflowed its banks on Monday are among areas in Makassar which were affected by floods.         Legislator Iqbal Djalil of Makassar DPRD said the floods had taken place because, among other things, the drainage networks were not well integrated and connected so that water was not disposed to the sea.          In West Kalimantan, Pimpinan village about 300 km to the north of provincial capital Pontianak, was also affected by floods. Incessant rains on Sunday night sent a flood to the village with a water depth of about 50 centimeters.          "Rain has been falling since last night and until now it is still going on causing flood waters in Pimpinan village," Ridwan, a junor high school staffer in Pimpinan village, Teluk Keramat sub district, said.          He said that tens of houses had been inundated by flood waters.           Besides, several sections of the West Kalimatan Northern Highways were also inundated as a result of water overflows over the past two days.          Secretary of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) for West Kalimantan Dr Nursyam Ibrahim called on the people of West Kalimantan to keep on alert over pestilence outbreak after floods.          "Almost all parts of West Kalimantan are affected by floods of late. So, we call on the people to be alerted over a possible outbreak of pestilence which is caused by rats," Nursyam said.     (T.A014/A/H-NG/10:30/O001) 27-12-2011 11:11:

IGNORANCE OF SPATIAL CONDITIONS BLAMED FOR WASIOR FLOODS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 12 (ANTARA) - Ministers have brushed aside allegations that illegal logging has been the main cause of a flash flood in West Papua's Waisor town last week.          They have come up with a conclusion that earthquake-affected vulnerable land, heavy rains and ignorance of spatial conditions for human settlement have been the causes of the flash floods that led to the loss of 145 lives and 103 others missing.          According to Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta,  it is almost impossible that illegal logging has been the factor behind the  flood.  An earthquake has previously occurred that caused the land there to become unstable before it is showered by high intensity of rains that triggered the flash flood.          After all, based on the spatial conditions, the area is not suitable for human settlement.          "Inappropriate spatial conditions for human settlement contributed to the flash flood. Based on forestry sciences, the area is not suitable for human settlement. It is within a limited production forest area. We should be careful because if the forest cover is opened a little it could trigger landslides," Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said on Monday.          The forestry minister said that the area actually might not be made a human settlement because otherwise it would disturb the land spatial conditions and trigger landslides. After all the rain falls in that area are high.          Wasior is located in a river flow area within a permanent forest production zone, and the government would not allow a forest concession to exploit the forest or to fell trees in the area.          "The limited production forest area should not be transformed into a town because the area is steep. If  it is resided by villagers with a developing population, residential area could expand up-side and could disturb the spatial condition which is steep, and that could trigger a landslide. But the main cause of the flood last week was heavy rains," Minister Zulkifli said.          He said that the natural disaster was not caused by illegal logging and in the future the area should follow a good spatial planning and should be managed well based on the environmental principles.          "I think the area should be managed based on a good spatial planning. Moreover, it is a nature reserve area. The forest cover may not be eliminated by whatever reasons. The spatial planning must be made based on the environmental principles and the principles of  permanent forest production and nature preservation zones," he said.          In the meantime,  Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta concurred with Minister Zulkifli that the flood in Wasior was not caused by illegal longing.          Gusti Muhammad Hatta said it was almost impossible that illegal logging had been the factor behind the recent flood. "I think the initial cause of the flash flood was high intensity of rains," he said here on Monday.          He said based on satellite images of 2000 and 2009 it was seen that forest coverage in the area had dropped just one percent. "Besides that one must know that forests in Wasior are natural reserves so that they are protected tightly and monitored closely so that it is almost impossible that a forest concession holder is operating there," he said.          "There were  no corporate logging activities there. According to our investigation with the help of satellite photos, only one percent of the forest area in Wasior district was denuded in 2000 and 2009, probably  for household purposes," the minister said.          He admitted that it was not impossible that tree felling had occurred but it must have been not on a big scale but just by individuals and not by big companies. In addition, he said, the region had been hit by an earthquake before the flood occurred so the land there had become unstable.          "In fact, before the flood, an earthquake struck the area which made the land there more unstable ," the minister added.          Because of the earthquake the earth structure there had changed and some of it had covered the river making the water in the river to overflow. "So this has happened because of a natural phenomenon. If land clearing has really occurred it must not have been too significant," he said.          In an effort to handle the flood problems, the government is considering relocating the victims and carry out reconstruction and rehabilitation.          "The government will soon prepare a spatial plan for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the town shortly after the emergency response period ends," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said.          The blue print would serve as reference for the reconstruction of the flash flood-devastated town to make it better than previously, he said. The government would soon issue a regulation concerning coordination among ministries involved in the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts, he said.          "A total of 12 school buildings and one hospital were damaged in the flash flood. Only the natural disaster mitigation board, regent, district military command and police resort chief are involved in the emergency response efforts. After the emergency response period has ended they will transfer the jobs to the relevant ministries," he said.          Agung Laksono said that the government was also studying the possibility of relocating the flood victims. "The possibility (of relocating them) is still being studied," he said. The effort is to be taken with regard to providing a safer place for them after recent flash floods destroyed the area.          "The government will find the best and most secure place for them," he said. The relocation process would later be put in a local regulation to prevent it from violating spatial regulations.          "Today the government has already started finding the best places for the Wasior flood victims," he said. ***3*** (T.A014/ H-NG/f001 ) 12-10-2010 10:48:

FLOODS HIT VARIOUS OF INDONESIA

Jakarta, Jan 12 (ANTARA) - The current rainy season has triggered floods and landslides in various parts of Indonesia, killing scores of residents, carrying away residential houses, knocking down bridges, cutting off communications and destroying various other public facilities and crops.

        Meteorological and geophysics officials have warned residents to stay alert over bad weather, storms, gales and high waves as the rainy season is still going on and is predicted to peak in February.

        At least 180 passengers were reported missing on Sunday in Parepare waters, South Sulawesi, when their motor boat KM Teratai Prima sank at 4. a.m due to high waves and bad whether.

        Coordinator of the rescue and search team from the University of Hasanuddin, Salman said that the ill-fated Teratai carried 200 passengers, 18 of whom had been rescued by local fishermen, and 182 still missing.

        On the occasion, another coordinator of the SAR, Arham, said Makassar, South Sulawesi, that besides providing help for victims of the motor boat accident, the team also sent rescuers to West Sulawesi's Polewali district, which was hit by floods on Sunday. The floods killed at least six people with four others missing.

        At least 30 houses were carried away by water currents, Arham, said adding that by Sunday afternoon, a number of government offices, places of worship and school buildings were still inundated by one-meter-deep flood water following overnight heavy rains.

        The floods also cut off land communication between West Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi provinces, he said. "Up till now the joint team of search and rescue workers are still trying to evacuate flood victims and continuing their search for missing residents," he said.

        One of the bridges in Deking village, Majene district, just about 50 km from Mamuju, capital of West Sulawesi, was also knocked down, cutting off land communication.

        Big floods also hit the Indonesian tourist resort island of Bali. The big floods in many parts of Bali from Kuta and Legian tourist resorts to Seminyak and Ubud, Gianyar regency and Denpasar city on Sunday had caused massive material losses.

        The losses were not only facing hundreds of families and their homes inundated, but also souvenir stores, especially those in Kuta, Legian and Seminyak.

        Head of the Badung regency social and manpower agency Tjok Ngurah Bagus Agung said in the middle of flood evacuees in Legian, said the floods had caused massive losses of the people, including to the owners of souvenir stores.

        But the extent of the loss is still being estimated, including the number of families and their property, he said.

        "Even tonight we still cannot give the figures and data. The big floods following incessant heavy rains and the overflow of river Tukad Mati had caused massive material losses," he said.

        Although the flood waters have started to recede, people are still evacuated, as rain started falling again in Bali which may cause another flood disaster.

        Floods also hit rural tourist destinations like the arts village of Ubud, Gianyar regency, especially around River Mumbul, inundating many homes, restaurants and museums.

        In Denpasar, although the flood waters have started receding, a resident was dragged by a strong current, and still went missing.

        In West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province, one resident was killed when heavy-rain triggered floods hit West Sumbawa district over the weekend. Regional Legislative Assembly chairman H Manimbang Kahariady said Mustafa died because he was shocked with the floods.

        He said that floods hit a number of villages in West Sumba district. At least 160 houses were destroyed, 33 others were carried away by the water current.

        The local meteorology and geophysics office called on ferry operators to keep alert on bad weather due to heavy rains and storms that triggered huge waves up to three meters high.

        In east Java, flash floods hit four sub districts in Jember District, and inundated at least 500 houses.

        The four affected sub districts were Jenggawah, Tempurejo, Silo, and Mayang. In Silo sub district, the flash floods triggered a landslide and destroyed 15 houses and two bridges.

        The inundation also cut off roads connecting Pace and Mulyorejo villages, as well as Jember and Banyuwangi districts.

        On December 2008 floods also inundated hundreds of hectares of rice fields at several villages in Bojonegoro, East Java, following incessant downpours for two days.

        At Sukerojo, flood submerged 107 hectares of 10-20-day-old paddy fields, Sukerojo Village Head, Budi Suprayitno said in Bojonegoro recently.

        In Sumatra, floods also hit Aceh and South Sumatra provinces.

        In Aceh, hundreds of houses in Langsa were flooded after rivers which flow through the city about 470 km west of the provincial capital Banda Aceh had overflowed since last Saturday, spokesman for the provincial social service. Several parts of Aceh Tengah district were hit by landslides following the incessant rains.

        Rain that has been falling since Friday in South Sumatra has caused landslides in a road section between Sekayu and Musi Rawas districts. Deputy chairman of the Regional Legislative Assembly (DPRD), Bihaqqi Sofyan called on the Public Work Services to repair the road the slid section of the road to normalize the traffic immediately.

        Local officials said road sections which were prone to landslides in South Sumatra included those connecting Muara Enim with Tanjung Enim, Lahat with Pagar Alam and Lahat and Tebing Tinggi.

        In Kalimantan, floods hit six districts in South Kalimantan province following incessant rains for a few days. The six affected districts were Hulu Sungai Utara (HSU), Hulu Sungai Selatan (HSS), Hulu Sungai Tengah (HST), Tanah Laut (Tala, Banjar and Tapin, Ariffin, a South Kalimantan provincial administration official said.

        In the meantime, land transportation in a number of road sections which connected Singkawang city with a number of towns in the northern coasts of West Kalimantan were cut off by floods and landslides on Sunday.(T.A014/A/HAJM/13:15/a/f001) 12-01-2009 13:51:05