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Climate, land use change data important for effective flood-mitigation strategy: Expert
Experts have called on the government to incorporate more data into its flood-mitigation efforts as extreme weather occurrences and land use change, particularly in urban areas, could make floods more frequent across the country.
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This handout picture taken and released on Oct. 1, 2021 by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) shows a boy wading through floodwaters toward a community health center in Pariaman, West Sumatra, after torrential rain triggered floods and landslides in the area. (AFP/Handout)
E
xperts have called on the government to incorporate more data in its flood-mitigation efforts as extreme weather occurrences and land use change, particularly in urban areas, could make floods more frequent across the country.
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) geologist Heri Andreas said that extreme weather brought about by climate change could cause more intense floods, meaning that the government should include climate change factors in its framework for flood mitigation.
“If we go on with a business-as-usual [mitigation effort] then the impact of floods will only get worse,” said Andreas in a discussion on Wednesday. “[Updated] data is important so that the [flood] mitigation efforts are effective and efficient.”
Floods are among the most frequent types of natural disaster in Indonesia. According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) data, 83 floods were recorded across the country in September – the latest available data, killing 11 people and affecting more than 230,000 others.
The figure was higher than the 68 floods that occurred over the same period last year.
Some regions have reported intense flooding, including floods that occurred last month in three out of five provinces in Kalimantan, namely West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, triggered by deforestation in the region and changing climate.
Read also: Recent floods in Kalimantan raises concerns over environmental damages
