Filed under: Tsunami
The 11 November launch in Jakarta of the Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System (InaTEWS) was welcome news throughout the archipelago, but perhaps most of all in Aceh.
The province hardest hit by the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, in which about 170,000 people died, is still rebuilding homes and livelihoods devastated by the disaster.
“In many places, the situation is better than it originally was, but in some places it is not yet as good as it used to be,” Pieter Smidt, head of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) mission in Sumatra, told IRIN.
Smidt heads ADB’s tsunami recovery project in Aceh. He said Indonesia’s Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency, or BRR, would end its mandate in April 2009. About US$6 billion had been invested in Aceh’s reconstruction so far, he said.
“This [InaTEWS] is definitely a very good investment from the international community and the government,” Smidt said.
The early warning system can reportedly predict and disseminate news of a possible tsunami within five minutes of an earthquake, according to the National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.
“This will give people around 30 to 40 minutes to evacuate and save their lives,” said Edie Prihanto, assistant to the deputy for technological needs analysis at the Ministry for Technology and Research.
Prihanto told IRIN they began developing InaTEWS in 2005, after the government decided that a warning system had to be developed “at any cost”. The meteorology agency said about 57 percent of Indonesia’s 81,000km of coastline was vulnerable to tsunamis.
The system, which consists of buoys linked to detectors on the seabed, was developed at a cost of 1.4 trillion rupiahs ($130 million). Germany contributed 45 million Euros ($56 million) to the project, while China, Japan, the USA and France contributed equipment and technical assistance.
Since 2005, the government has been conducting tsunami preparedness drills in various parts of the country every year on 26 December – the annual anniversary of the 2004 tsunami.
Filed under: Earthquake
JAKARTA, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Indonesia issued a tsunami warning after two strong earthquakes struck in the area of northern Sulawesi, the country’s meteorological agency said via a telephone text message on Monday.
A magnitude 7.7 quake struck in the Gorontalo area of Sulawesi island at a shallow depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the agency said.
It said a second 6.0 magnitude quake struck shortly afterwards in northern Sulawesi.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the second quake, at 1734 GMT, was 5.6 magnitude at a depth of 9.9 km (6.2 miles), 83 miles northwest of Gorontalo.
Indonesia launched a new hi-tech system on Tuesday aimed at detecting a potential tsunami and providing faster alerts in a region battered by frequent earthquakes.
The sprawling archipelago of some 17,000 islands, which lies in the seismically-active “Pacific Ring of Fire”, was hit by a devastating tsunami four years ago that left an estimated 170,000 people dead or missing in Aceh province. (Reporting by Telly Nathalia, Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Janet Lawrence
Filed under: Uncategorized
11 Jakarta districts may be flooded in January:
BMG warns
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 11/10/2008 1:28 PM | Jakarta
The government’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) has warned that torrential rains will hit Jakarta in January and February next year, potentially flooding 11 districts in three municipalities around the capital.
Endro Santoso, head of BMG’s climatology and air quality information division, on Monday said heavy rains of up to 100 millimeters per day could occur during those months.
“Some 11 districts are prone to heavy flooding during these months,” he said as quoted by Antara news agency.
These districts are Cengkareng, Grogol, Petamburan and Kalideres in West Jakarta; Kebayoran Baru, Mampang Prapatan and Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta; and Cipayung, Ciracas, Kramatjati and Makasar in East Jakarta.
Endro said the heavy rains would begin in Jakarta in December. He also said there were possibilities of the city facing strong winds prior to the storms.
The rainy season is expected to end in February next year in northern Jakarta and in May in the southern parts of the city. (dre)
Filed under: Flood
Samarinda Flood Spreading
Samarinda, E Kalimantan (ANTARA News) – The flood that hit the East Kalimantan provincial capital of Samarinda over the past week has been spreading to six villages in two subdistricts.
By Sunday at least 4,547 houses in North Samarinda and Samarinda Ulu subdistricts were inundated compared to 3,989 houses in North Samarinda last Saturday, according to data from the disaster mitigation command post.
“Yesterday (last Satrurday) only four villages in North Samarinda subdistrict were flooded. But by Sunday afternoon the flood has spread and inundated part of Sidodadi and Gunung Kelua villages in Samarinda Ulu subdistrict,” rescue worker Gusti Ahmad said.
He predicted more and more areas would be flooded as the Mahakam River which flows through the city continued to overflow.
“The flood water has shown no sign of receding. The water level is likely to rise as the Mahakam River usually overflows ahead of the full moon,” he said.
An Antara journalist observed the water level in a number of flooded roads including Jl. Ruhui Rahaya, dr Sutomo, M. Yamin and PM Noor continued to increase on Sunday, forcing the traffic police to close the roads.
The water level on the roads reached 30 cm-50 cm.(*)
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