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Authorities warned of worsening disasters as heavy rain continues
Broken bridge: Residents look at a collapsed bridge in Serabi Kidul hamlet in Kudus, Central Java, on Wednesday
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Broken bridge: Residents look at a collapsed bridge in Serabi Kidul hamlet in Kudus, Central Java, on Wednesday. The bridge was washed away when flash flooding hit the area, forcing motorists to take a lengthy detour. (Antara/Andreas Fitri Atmoko) (Antara/Andreas Fitri Atmoko)
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span class="inline inline-none">Broken bridge: Residents look at a collapsed bridge in Serabi Kidul hamlet in Kudus, Central Java, on Wednesday. The bridge was washed away when flash flooding hit the area, forcing motorists to take a lengthy detour. (Antara/Andreas Fitri Atmoko)
Authorities in a number of disaster-prone regions have been warned about the potential for worsening disasters, including landslides and floods, due to the ongoing downpours nationwide.
In West Java, the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) suggested that people living in landslide-prone areas in Ciramba and Mekarmulya subdistricts, Cikalong district, Cianjur, should be relocated.
The head of the PVMBG's landslide mitigation management team, Heri Purnomo, said soil in the two subdistricts, home to around 1,500 people, had been shifting continually for the last week due to heavy rains.
'If rain pours heavily, the soil can move by up to 5 meters a day,' Herry said on Wednesday, adding that
light rains could trigger soil movement of between 10 and 20 centimeters per day.
The soil in the region, he said, was distinguished by layers of rocks that were the remnants of volcanic eruptions. But, they sit on top of a layer of clay that cannot absorb water.
As a result, when water content in the upper layers becomes too great, the soil subsides to lower ground.
Cianjur Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Asep Suhara said at least 500 people had been relocated due to the current situation. 'We are afraid of possible land subsidence following heavy downpours.'
Landslides in the region have destroyed more than 100 houses, while another 400 remain under threat.
Meanwhile in Jombang, East Java, 14 people were buried by a landslide on Monday. Seven bodies have been recovered, while the other seven people remain missing.
In Surakarta, Central Java, the municipal administration has called for flood preparedness as three of its five districts ' Banjarsari, Pucangsawit and Pasar Kliwon ' are considered at high risk of flooding.
Efi Setyawati, head of the Surakarta Health Agency's disaster control and environmental health, said that a number of community health centers (puskesmas) and hospitals had been prepared to provide intensive care in the event of a disaster.
'Eight puskesmas located near riverbanks in Sangkrah and Pucangsawit districts have been turned into core puskesmas,' Efi said.
As such, the puskesmas are equipped with rapid movement teams comprising doctors, nurses, pharmacists and administrative staff. A further nine puskesmas have also been prepared to support these core health centers.
Surakarta Mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo said the Anyar and Bengawan Solo rivers needed to be heightened to prevent the kind of severe flooding that occurred in 2007.
Meanwhile, the number of people displaced because of floods in Central Java has increased to tens of thousands. Crops are also under threat as floodwater has inundated vast swaths of agricultural land in the province.
In Pati, flooding has displaced more than 45,000 people from 118 subdistricts in 17 districts, according to head of the local BPBD, Sujono.
'They are staying either in evacuation centers provided by the regency administration or with their relatives,' he said.
In Semarang, a landslide displaced 32 families from the Tangkil Baru residential complex in Sukorejo subdistrict, Gunungpati district, whose houses were destroyed.
Semarang Mayor Hendrar Prihadi said he had offered those affected temporary accommodation in low-cost apartments in Kaligawe or Banjardowo.
He also said he expected the housing complex's developers to assume responsibility for the damage caused as they had developed the complex in a landslide-prone area.
Meanwhile in Jepara, floodwater has finally receded from a section of road in Welahan ' which connects Demak and Jepara ' that had been paralyzed for a week. Traffic flows have now returned to normal
In Cilacap, 155 families from nine subdistricts in Sidareja and Kedungreja districts remain in temporary shelters as the area is still flooded.
Suherdjoko in Semarang, Central Java, contributed to this story.
