Indonesia faces earthquakes, floods, landslides and precipitation from Sriwijaya air crash

Seventy-three people died in Friday’s earthquake in the city of Mamuju, north of the epicenter, while 11 others were killed in Majene, a city about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Mamuju. Thousands of residents fled their homes in search of security, but many are still trapped under collapsed buildings, according to local search and rescue teams.

At least 253 people were seriously injured and 679 others sustained minor injuries, said Raditya Jati of the Indonesian National Disaster Management Council. The earthquake also caused a power outage and caused three landslides along the main road that connects Majene and Mamuju.

The earthquake created an additional headache for a nation already battling a serious coronavirus outbreak. Indonesia has reported at least 907,929 cases of Covid-19 and nearly 26,000 related deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The head of Indonesia’s disaster management agency, Doni Monardo, said on Sunday that rapid antigen test kits were being provided to evacuation centers to verify and track the potential transmission of Covid-19 among the 19,435 people displaced by the earthquake.

“Later, there will be an antigen swab process, to ensure that refugees are not exposed to Covid-19,” said Doni. He added that displacement centers were asked to separate vulnerable groups from young people to prevent the virus from spreading.

The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency warned that aftershocks could still occur and urged those living in mountainous areas to be aware of landslides. People living near the coast have also been warned to stay away from the beach in the event of tsunamis.

Meanwhile, rescuers continued to free people trapped under collapsed buildings in various locations in Mamuju – including two hotels and a hospital. “People are reporting that their family members are trapped under collapsed houses and asking for our help,” Ariyanto Ardi, head of section for the local disaster management department, told CNN on Saturday.

“We do not yet have details of how many people are buried under these destroyed buildings,” he added.

Occupying the so-called “ring of fire” in the Pacific, Indonesia – a nation of high tectonic activity – is regularly hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In 2018, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the city of Palu in Sulawesi, killing thousands.

Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano, started erupting again on January 4. Since then, 500 people living on or near fertile slopes have been evacuated, according to local Disaster Management in the Magelang district.

On Monday, Merapi continued to spit lava as hot clouds and ash rose 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) into the air, according to the Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation. The agency said six lava flows can be seen, going down 600 meters on its southwest slope.

Also on the island of Java, Indonesia’s highest volcano, Mount Semeru, began to expel lava, ash and smoke on Saturday.

Floods and landslides

The floods caused by heavy rains in South Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo this week killed at least 15 people and displaced more than 100,000.

Waters up to 1.5 meters inundated more than 20,000 homes in 10 districts in the province, according to Raditya of the disaster management agency.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited areas affected by the flood on Monday, while rescue workers distributed aid, including food, tarpaulins and blankets, to those in need.

Separately, at least six people died in floods and landslides in the city of Manado, in North Sulawesi, on Saturday.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency warned that more rain may follow, saying that the region was in the middle of the rainy season, which runs until February.

Meanwhile, rescue workers continue to look for victims in mud and rubble, 10 days after a landslide, caused by heavy rains and unstable soil conditions, destroyed the village of Cihanjuang in the province of West Java. On Monday, four bodies were removed from the mud, increasing the death toll to 33. Rescuers are looking for four people who are still missing, according to the West Java Search and Rescue Agency.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, tends to suffer floods and landslides, especially during the rainy season from November to March. In December 2019 and January 2020, severe floods in Jakarta, triggered by the worst rains on record, left swaths of the capital submerged and affected more than 400,000 people.

Experts expressed concern that these extreme weather conditions could become a new norm due to the climate crisis.

Sriwijaya air accident

In another disaster that rocked the Southeast Asian nation, divers continue to search for the wreckage of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182, while authorities continue to investigate the cause of the accident.

On Friday, search teams located the voice recorder from the plane’s cabin, but the memory unit was missing the case, Soerjanto Tjahjono, chairman of the National Transport Safety Committee, told CNN.

Despite the lack of the locking memory unit, Soerjanto said he believes he will still be able to recover the data.

Also on Friday, the committee successfully downloaded the information contained in the retrieved flight data recorder, which was found by divers and an underwater vehicle operated remotely last week.

“There are 330 parameters and all are in good condition. We are currently studying, ”said Soerjanto.

The findings of the flight data recorder data so far have confirmed earlier reports that the two engines were still running when the plane hit the water.

Efforts to find and identify those who died on board also continue. On Sunday, the divers recovered 10 bags of remains, as well as pieces and debris from the plane itself.