Jakarta, Jan 28 (Antara) - The current rainy season will peak between the first and second weeks of February, with heavy rain and strong winds expected to trigger floods, landslides and sea accidents.
Based on information from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), almost 90 percent of Indonesia will be hit by heavy rain and strong winds that could continue till the second week of February.
Therefore, the Ministry of Transportation has warned the public about the possibility of natural disasters that might cause mishaps, both on land and at sea.
After all, the height of sea waves can range between two and six meters and are considered dangerous for shipping activities.
Moreover, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), some 63.7 million people in Indonesia are now living in flood prone areas.
The BNPB has called on people to increase alertness in the face of the current rainy season.
"BMKG has forecast that the rainy season will peak at the end of January 2016. Although the El Nino phenomenon is currently still highly intense, its condition is expected to enter the neutral phase in March or April 2016," the Head of the BNPB Data Information Center and Public Relations, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Sunday.
He further pointed out that some 63.7 million people in Indonesia are currently living in flood prone areas. Of this number, 40.9 million people are living in areas prone to landslides.
"They have to be safeguarded, so that they are not affected by the disasters," Sutopo said.
People traveling by land, particularly trains, have also been reminded of the importance of keeping alert as there are areas, along the railway tracks, which are vulnerable to landslides.
The Director General of Land Transportation warned that during the current rainy season, there are 121 points along the railway tracks in Java and Sumatra, which are prone to landslides.
"During the January to February period this year, efforts must be made to prevent accidents along the railway lines, particularly at 121 points in landslide prone areas," Popiek Montanasyah, director of Train Land Transportation at the Directorate General of Land Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation, stated.
Most of the landslide prone areas have been found in the Regional Division I (Divre I) region of North Sumatra, which has 20 sensitive points, of which nine are located in the Tebing Tinggi-Siantar section and along the Medan-Tanjung Bali route. Eight points are located in the Kisaran-Rantau section.
The Director General for Train Transportation, Hermanto Dwiatmoko noted that for his side, the Indonesian Railway company (PT KAI), had always monitored all landslide prone areas.
Hermanto revealed that the monitoring was conducted in cooperation with the Railway Technical Development Office in a bid to anticipate natural disasters that could occur as a result of heavy rainfall.
"To anticipate any blockages in train tracks due to landslides, the Directorate General has outlined alternative routes," he remarked on Wednesday.
The Railway Directorate General has also prepared six carriages for equipment to handle accidents. The tools include lifting jacks, cutters, spreaders, generators, lamps, lifting bags, and several other devices that can be used to carry out an evacuation.
Extreme weather is also forecast to hit certain marine areas in Indonesia and could trigger waves of up to six meters in height at the end of January, a Meteorology Official warned.
"The extreme weather is predicted for January 25 to 29. During this period, the height of the waves could reach up to six meters. This could endanger shipping activities, so stakeholders in the shipping industry should take anticipatory steps," Yunus Subagyo, the deputy chief at BMKG, stated.
Therefore, the Transportation Ministry has urged port administrators to observe any changes in weather conditions following the meteorology agency's forecast of extreme weather, which could trigger up to six-meter-high waves at the end of January.
"In an effort to prevent the recurrence of ship mishaps, particularly in the current bad weather, all port administrators should continue to monitor the developments in weather conditions, based on the BMKG's forecast," Bobby R. Mamahit, the director general of Sea Communications, said on Wednesday.
He suggested that data on weather conditions should be disseminated to shipping service users, as well as the authorities managing terminals and the embarkation and debarkation points.
The Director General also called on harbormasters to postpone the issuance of sailing permits (SPB) if the weather conditions pose a threat to ships at sea. The SPB should be issued carefully or be delayed until conditions are deemed safe.
He also urged ship operators to continue monitoring weather conditions and report them to the port officers at least six hours before applying for SPB.
They have also been asked to monitor the weather conditions at sea and report the information to the nearest operators of the coastal radio station (SROP) for inclusion in the log book.
The BMKG had released previous data on the possible height of waves in various parts of the country.
The height of waves in several areas of Indonesia's maritime territory could reach between 1.25 and 2.5 meters. High waves are likely to be seen in the western parts of Indonesia in Sumatra, the southern part of the Sunda Strait, Natuna Sea, Makassar Strait, Sulawesi Sea, Maluku Sea, Banda Sea, Sumbawa, Flores, and the Arafura seas, as well as in the southern part of Java Sea to Bali.
Waves reaching a height of between 2.5 and 4.0 meters can be seen in the waters of North Aceh, the Natuna Islands, the Anambas Islands, the southern parts of West and East Nusa Tenggara, the Talaud Island, Halmahera, the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, and the Halmahera-Papua waters.
High waves reaching a height of up to four meters have been forecast in the South China Sea and in the eastern parts of the Philippines.***4***
(A014/INE)EDITED BY INE/H-YH(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 28-01-2016 20:24:4 |
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