- The disaster in Indonesia occurred significantly earlier this year. Data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) in the first two months, 1 January – 27 February 2024, there have been 361 disasters in Indonesia . Disaster incidents have continued to incre
- ase in recent years.
- Throughout 2024, floods dominate disasters with 227 cases , followed by 89 extreme weather events, 24 landslides, and 16 forest and land fires ( karhutla ) . Then , there were three earthquakes , a volcanic eruption, a tidal wave and one abrasion each .
- Fachri Radjab, Head of the Climate Change Information Center at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Indonesia will be hit by drought in 2024 between May-June. However, conditions will vary in each region because Indonesia has 699 season zones.
- Disasters in Indonesia increase every year with floods and extreme weather dominating. According to BNPB data in 2023, 5,400 disasters occurred in various regions in Indonesia , an increase compared to 2022 of 3 . 544 times .
The disaster in Indonesia occurred significantly earlier this year. Data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) in the first two months, from January 1 to February 27 2024, 361 disasters have occurred in Indonesia. Disaster incidents have continued to increase in recent years.
 |
| Disasters Continue to Increase, What Are Mitigation and Adaptation Efforts? |
Throughout 2024, floods dominate disasters with 227 cases, followed by 89 extreme weather events, 24 landslides, and 16 forest and land fires (karhutla). Then, there were three earthquakes, a volcanic eruption, a tidal wave and one abrasion each.
The impact of the disaster caused damage to 11,920 houses and 243 public/social facilities, 47 people died, two were missing, 119 were injured and 1,602,927 residents had to evacuate.
Floods and extreme weather
Abdul Muhari, Head of the Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center at BNPB, said that flooding and extreme weather are their concern. The highest frequency of flooding is from 19-25 February 2024, followed by extreme weather such as tornadoes.
In fact, the floods that hit several areas have not yet receded, such as on the islands of Sumatra, among others, Central Aceh, Medan, Tebing Tinggi, South Lampung and Tulang Bawang.
Then, in several areas in West Kalimantan (Kalbar) and Central Kalimantan. This condition, he said, was of concern to BNPB because of the high intensity rain which caused long-duration flooding.
"So, there are several points in Sumatra where the duration of the flood is quite long, reaching a week or more," he said in a Disaster Briefing on the BNPB YouTube channel , quoted on Tuesday (27/2/24).
Apart from that, he said, Bali and East Nusa Tenggara also have not receded like Sumbawa Regency.
Muhari said, Kelvin and Rossby equatorial waves will occur significantly within the next week. BNPB data shows that rain continues to occur in several areas of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java and Papua.
"We saw rain on 25-26 (February) in West Kalimantan, central and south Kalimantan and 27-28 [February] which broke off Maluku, 29 February to 1 March in west Sumatra and north Papua. "Well, this area needs to be alert for high rainfall," he said.
For extreme weather, in Rancaekek, on the Bandung-Sumedang border, West Java, on Wednesday (21/2/24) a tornado occurred causing one person to be seriously injured, six moderately injured and 15 slightly injured. A total of 422 families or 1,359 people were affected.
The incident, he said, destroyed infrastructure such as one educational facility slightly damaged, two worship facilities slightly damaged and 19 factory buildings and shops.
Residents' settlements, he said, were not spared from the brunt of the wind, causing 151 houses to be heavily damaged, 119 to be moderately damaged and 223 to be slightly damaged.
Then, a landslide in Luwu, South Sulawesi on Monday (26/2/24) caused four people to die and 10 were rushed to the Community Health Center. The landslide is estimated to have buried 15 motorbikes and two cars, with the road buried around 100 meters long.
The landslide on Jalan Poros Bonglo Village, North Bastem District occurred after high intensity rain on a cliff segment with an unstable soil structure.
Muhari said that the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had also issued a weather forecast with areas that have a chance of low to high intensity rain for the next week.
In the weather forecast, West Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, East Java, West Papua and Papua have the potential for heavy and light rain.
Tornadoes, he said, also occurred significantly in early 2024, prompting BNPB to issue a warning. According to Muhari, there are several characteristics of the impact of a tornado that need to be known.
Damage to house structure. Damage to the main structure of the building which could result in the house collapsing, or minor structural damage such as to the roof or upper walls of the house.
Outdoor impacts such as fallen trees or billboards can impact transportation routes (e.g. blocking roads) or impact other structures.
For house buildings, he said, there are four types of conditions resulting from being affected by strong winds or tornadoes. First , the uplift or roof of the house is lifted. Second , the racking or house tilts due to the walls resisting the compressive force from the wind .
Third , sliding or the position of the house shifts . Fourth , overturning _or the house lifting and turning over.
Keep increasing
Disasters in Indonesia increase every year with floods and extreme weather dominating. BNPB data in 2023 showed that 5,400 disasters occurred in various regions in Indonesia, an increase compared to 2022 of 3,544 times.
In 2023, the most forest fires will occur, namely 1,803 incidents. Then, 1,170 floods, 1,155 extreme weather events and 579 landslides. Then, 168 droughts, 31 earthquakes and abrasion in 2023. There have been four volcanic eruptions.
It was recorded, he said, that 267 people died, 33 people were missing, 5,785 were injured, and more than 9 million people were displaced and suffering.
Climate crises increase disasters
Adila Isfandiari, Climate and Energy Campaigner for Greenpeace Indonesia, said that disasters are dominated by hydrometeorological disasters. Hydrometeorological disasters, he said, are disasters that damage the atmosphere, water and oceans. Examples include floods, droughts, extreme weather and forest and land fires.
“It's actually caused or exacerbated by the climate crisis. "The climate crisis is caused by greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, which makes our atmosphere warmer," he said.
The atmosphere causes hydrological factors such as air humidity and water vapor to be disturbed. So, hydrometeorological disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity, such as occurring in 2022 to 2023.
"So, that's actually what we are experiencing as a result of this climate crisis."
He said an increase in temperature also occurred. The global average temperature will rise by 1.1 degrees Celsius in 2024. Because the atmospheric temperature is getting hotter, it is possible that hydrometeorological disasters will increase.
"Hydrometeorological disasters will become even more intense, they will continue to get worse, their frequency will be even higher," he said.
Adila said that the cause of the climate crisis is global warming because there is an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Other causes, he said, are damage to the ozone layer, damage to forest functions, uncontrolled use of carbon (CFC) chemicals and industrial exhaust gases .
"If we look at global trends, the factor that influences the biggest greenhouse effect is energy, which is 75%. "Greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere come from the energy sector," he said.
Burning this energy, he said, is like using fossil coal as a material. Currently, 87% of electricity supply in Indonesia comes from fossil fuels.
Adila said the climate crisis would get worse if the Indonesian government did not immediately transition to energy. Based on the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), in 2030 Indonesia will become the country that contributes the largest greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Currently, Indonesia is ranked 6th in the world as a country producing carbon emissions, namely 1.80%.
The climate crisis, he said, is also caused by deforestation or the clearing of forests for infrastructure development, mining, palm oil plantations and ponds.
Global Forest Watch data shows that in 2001-2022, 29.4 million hectares of forest area experienced deforestation. Riau was the area with the highest deforestation at 4.09 million hectares, then West Kalimantan 3.83 million hectares. Then, East Kalimantan 3.63 million hectares, Central Kalimantan 3.60 million hectares and South Sumatra 3.03 million hectares.
Meanwhile, Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) data shows that in 2000, Indonesia still had 106 million hectares of natural forest. This number decreased to 93 million hectares in 2009, 88 million hectares in 2013, and 82 million hectares in 2017.
"So because of reckless development, several locations do not have a strong carrying capacity (environmental carrying capacity) to support the cover above it (forest)," said Adila.
How to solve it?
The government, he said, must take concrete steps to overcome the climate crisis, including adapting by educating the public to overcome the impacts of the climate crisis.
“For example, how to help urban communities have good climate resilience. Including an early warning system . Building community awareness . Educate the public that we are in a crisis.”
"Strengthening infrastructure development in the regions, because of adaptation, we are aware or not that climate disasters have occurred and people are affected, such as farmers, they have experienced several crop failures."
Then, the government must accelerate the energy transition, e.g. stop the construction and use of coal-fired power plants and switch to equitable renewable energy.
Fachri Radjab, Head of the Climate Change Information Center at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), does not deny that the climate crisis has caused the frequency of disasters to increase.
"Yes, so the frequency of extreme wet or dry events tends to increase," he said when contacted by Mong Bay .
Regarding weather predictions, said Fachri, Indonesia will be hit by drought in 2024 between May-June. In the regions, he said, conditions will be different because Indonesia has 699 season zones.
The season transition, he said, will start in April gradually according to the season zone. "Each zone is different when the dry season starts," he said.
This transition period starts from the predicted end of the El-Nino phenomenon in March 2024. At that time, El-Nino was accompanied by the rainy season.