Indonesia faces earthquake, floods, landslides and rainfall since Sriwijaya Air accident

Seventy-three people died in Friday’s quake in the town of Mamuju, north of the epicenter, while another 11 were killed in Majene, a town about 200 kilometers south of Mamuju. Thousands of people have fled their homes in search of safety, but many are still trapped under collapsed buildings, according to local search and rescue teams.

At least 253 people were seriously injured and another 679 were slightly injured, said Raditya Jati of Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Council. The quake also caused a power outage and caused three landslides along the main road that connects Majene to Mamuju.

The quake created an additional headache for a nation already struggling with a severe outbreak of coronavirus. Indonesia has reported at least 907,929 Covid-19 cases and nearly 26,000 associated deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The head of Indonesia’s disaster management agency, Doni Monardo, said on Sunday that rapid antigen testing kits had been provided to evacuation centers to check and track potential Covid-19 transmissions among the 19,435 people displaced by the quake.

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

The Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency warned that aftershocks could occur and urged those living in hilly 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 a tsunami.

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

“We still don’t have details of how many people are buried under those flattened buildings,” he added.

Located on the so-called “Ring of Fire” of the Pacific, Indonesia – a nation with high tectonic activity – is regularly affected by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In 2018, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the city of Palu in Sulawesi, killing thousands of people.

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

On Monday, Merapi continued to throw lava as hot clouds and ash rose in the air by 1 kilometer, according to the Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation. The agency said six lava flows could be seen, descending 600 meters on its southwestern slope.

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

Floods and landslides

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 of up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) have flooded more than 20,000 homes in 10 districts of the province, according to Raditya from the disaster management agency.

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

Separately, at least six people were killed on Saturday in floods and landslides in the northern Sulawesi town of Manado.

The Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency warned that more rains could follow, saying the region is in the middle of the rainy season, which will last until February.

Meanwhile, rescue workers continue to search for victims through mud and debris 10 days after the landslide, caused by heavy rains and unstable ground conditions, broke through the village of Cihanjuang in West Java province. On Monday, four bodies were removed from the mud, bringing the death toll to 33. Rescue workers are searching for four people still missing, according to the West Java Search and Rescue Agency.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, often suffers from 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 rainfall, left underwater areas of the capital and affected over 400,000 people.

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

Sriwijaya Air is crashing

In another disaster that shook the nation of Southeast Asia, divers continue to search for the wreckage of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182, while authorities are continuing the investigation into the cause of the accident.

On Friday, search teams located the cockpit voice recorder, but the memory unit was not the case, Soerjanto Tjahjono, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Committee, told CNN.

Despite the lack of a backup memory unit, Soerjanto said they believe they will still be able to recover data.

Also on Friday, the committee successfully downloaded information from the recovered flight data recorder, which was found by divers and a remotely operated underwater vehicle last week.

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

Findings from the flight data recorder have so far confirmed previous reports that the two engines were still running when the plane hit the water.

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