Showing posts with label Floods and Disaster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Floods and Disaster. Show all posts
Javanese are rich in luck in the floods
Story By Godeliva D Sari
Photo Indra Harsaputra
The Javanese see themselves as always looking on the bright side of events, saying that they are lucky, even in misfortune. For example, if in a traffic accident a whole family is wiped out, a typical Javanese response would be: "Lucky they all died together, imagine if a child survived but was badly crippled!" 
So, when the rain continued on Dec. 26, through the day and the night, it was inevitable that there would be floods, but being Javanese the people in the flooded areas would still be smiling.
The Bengawan Solo river burst its banks and in some places the water reached the roofs of the houses. Pak Sriyono of Widodaren Lor village is in his 40s and his house was nearly submerged but still he smiled. He was worried about his pet song bird, which was in a cage in the house -- not wet, but without food.
"I'm lucky the bird can't sing yet! If it could already sing and mimic other birds I would be losing some money!" he said.
The Bengawan Solo has been the main artery of Java since pre-history. The remains of Pithecanthropus erectus were found by the banks of this river in the village of Trinil in Ngawi regency, proving that these fertile lands have supported life since long ago.
An old keroncong song by the Solonese musician, Gesang, tells us that when the Bengawan Solo floods the waters cover large areas. The regent of Ngawi thinks this year's flood is the biggest yet in this area's memory. Every local knows why these floods are happening on this scale and expects worse in the future.
In the last decade, this region has witnessed all its forests, thousands of hectares of teak, being chopped down. The new saplings planted are still too young to hold much water. In true Javanese fashion, it is said that we are lucky to have these floods and landslides, because now we know that if it rains for 24 hours or so, we will probably have more of the same.
We all know that every monsoon we can expect several long, heavy rainstorms like that. We are lucky to have these floods and landslides now, to make us hurry and reforest and conserve.
Many small rivers run into Bengawan Solo and from the rains of Dec. 26 and afterwards there were floods in the valleys and fatal landslides in the mountain areas.
It is interesting to see how the villages on the hills and below manage their water. Traditionally villages here employed an official called the ulu-ulu or pala-uceng whose job was to look after the village's irrigation channels and make sure that water for the fields was divided acceptably in the dry season, while in the rainy season he must organize against floods.
Traveling up the north slope of Mount Lawu toward Ngrambe, then to Sine and through to Gondang in Sragen regency, there is not a single un-vandalized water gate. Every single one has been worked on by a scrap-metal thief with a hacksaw. Not one single irrigation channel is in proper working order, and there is no way anyone can control the flood of water in those channels. 
Seeing the neglect and vandalism on water gates that has been so widespread, we are lucky that more agricultural crops were not damaged. Another thing about the vandalized water gates: we are lucky that in most cases the thieves only bothered to steal the top part, and the bottom parts of the metal that form the actual gates are mostly intact. We are lucky; a guy with a welding torch could go around and fix the damaged water-gates in no time.
But between the flooded valley and the landslides in the mountain slopes, some villages in the middle actually had real luck that was material and readily convertible into cash. In these lucky villages people actually rejoiced and gave thanks for the floods. The rushing waters deposited a nice little profit in the form of sand and stones in the bends of the village's rivers.
The villagers collect these valuable building materials in a celebratory atmosphere after the floods recede. The Jakarta Post happened upon a party of sand and stone collectors around the bridge that connects the villages of Kayutrejo and Sekaralas over the river called Nglodro, in Widodaren district. In the drizzle of the rain in the hazy afternoon an elderly man was neck deep in the swollen river. He seemed to be doing something underwater with his feet. Suddenly he dived and disappeared, only to appear again hoisting a bamboo basket full of wet sand over his head. He carried this high up the bank where he already had a large pile gathered.
Other people were doing the same -- both upstream and downstream. Sand and stones were being carted away. A woman and her husband were collecting stones and rapidly making a big pile up the riverbank. In the middle of the river, just past a sharp bend, there was a huge pile of stones. Children were diving in the river and building their own child-size piles further down. Everyone was enjoying the day and everyone was happy. The sand and stones were liquid assets readily converted into rupiah. For just enough sand or stones to fill a small pickup truck a collector can demand Rp 80,000.
It seemed that every 12-year-old there that afternoon had earned at least that sum and the adults had earned even more. There was over Rp 5 million worth of sand and stones piled up in a small hill in that river bend.Pak Sugeng and his wife confided they had made Rp 500,000 in a day. No wonder everyone looked so happy!
Mud disaster still up in the air nearly two years later
Indra Harsaputra and Stevie Emilia
The Jakarta Post/ Sidoarjo, Jakarta
It has been nearly two years since the mud started gushing out of a gas exploration drilling site in Sidoarjo regency, East Java, erasing a number of villages from the face of the map. Since then, there is only one thing for certain -- the disaster is unstoppable.
Since it first struck on May 29 last year, the calamity has forced thousands of people from their homes, made thousands of workers lost their jobs, put companies out of businesses and required other companies to spend more money either to relocate or transport their products. 
The company at the heart of the disaster, Lapindo Brantas Inc., has paid some compensation to affected residents but its hard to put a value on the misery of having to find a new home, as well as a livelihood.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the company to complete paying out the first tranche of compensation by the end of the year, but the reality might not be so straightforward.
The President has also set a target for completing relocation of the affected infrastructure, which it is estimated will cost some Rp 2.1 trillion, by the end of next year.
But the relocation plan might be hard to be carry out, as well. The residents have been blamed for slowing down the relocation of various infrastructural facilities -- including a turnpike, railway line and gas pipeline -- by demanding high prices for their land.
"People are asking for high prices that will to be accede to as the land and building prices should refer to the estimates made by the independent team," complained Sidoarjo Regent Win Hendrarso.
The residents affected by the relocation plan in Jabon village, for instance, were demanding Rp 120,000 per square meter of their rice fields. This is similar to the compensation paid by the company to mudflow victims. On the other hand, the government is only willing to pay Rp 100,000 a square meter.
"I'm not sure the land acquisition problem can be solved by the end of this year. But I will not use a repressive approach. I will approach residents and remind them that the infrastructure relocation is crucial for Sidoarjo's economy and future," Win said.
Under the plan, the infrastructure will be relocated to the west side of the mud volcano, and will require a total of 132 hectares of land in 15 villages in Sidoarjo and Pasuruan regency.
Of the relocation funds, Rp 2.11 trillion of which came from the state budget, Rp 450 billion is to move the railway line, Rp 700 billion for the turnpike, Rp 300 billion to build a highway, Rp 60 billion for the gas pipeline, Rp 600 billion to pay for land acquisition and Rp 4.5 billion for overall relocation design work.
Altogether, the total losses caused by the mud volcano are estimated at Rp 7.6 trillion. Apart from relocation, it has cost Rp 612 billion to construct a canal to channel the mud to the sea, Rp 70 billion for operational expenses, Rp 50 billion to channel the mud to the Porong River, Rp 300 billion for dam construction and another Rp 4.2 trillion to cover social, housing and land losses.
Even then, this massive sum did not include the Rp 3.5 trillion in cash compensation paid by Lapindo, and the some Rp 40 billion in losses suffered by 12 companies located near to the mud volcano source and other companies whose distribution and service chains were disrupted when the mud cut the main Porong highway.
Phone company PT Telkom reportedly has suffered Rp 20 billion in losses as a result of the mud volcano.
The company's public relations manager in East Java, Djati Soegiarto, said that this did not include the loss of 7,500 customers, or another Rp 750 million per month.
Apart from the slow progress in land acquisition for relocation purposes, Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency head Sunarso blamed slow payments out of the national budget as another problem hampering infrastructure relocation.
He said the money had only been disbursed in early December, and had to be spent by mid December. He added that his agency had proposed the extension of the budget-spending deadline to April next year.
"The late (funding disbursement) makes us unsure whether the infrastructure relocation project can be completed next year as targeted by the government. But if the government wants it completed in 2008, we're ready as long the money is there," Sunarso said.
The slow progress with the relocation plan means that businesses and residents are left further out of pocket.
The cutting of roads forces public transportation passengers to spend extra money and time while traveling through Porong, while each company has to spend some Rp 10 million per month on extra fuel when distributing their products.
"The extra cost reduces the company's profit," said a businessman in Malang regency. "We also run the risk of consumers losing their trust due to late delivery."
Train passengers are risk when passing the area as the mud has warped the track and left it open to subsidence, leaving railway company PT Kereta Api with no other option than to order train drivers to slow down to 5 km per hour when passing the affected area.
The victims are still there. Of the 12,777 affected families, 96 percent of them have received the first tranche of 20 percent compensation from the company, while the rest, more than 638 of them, are still taking shelter in Pasar Baru market in Porong.
"We have rejected the 20 percent payment since the money is not enough to start a new life in a new place.
"We are demanding 50 percent and will remain here until our demand is met," said 45-year-old Sumainah from Renokenongo village.
Syafrudin Ngulma Simeulue of the National Commission on Human Rights' mediation sub-commission said the commission had found strong indications of human rights violations
He said the violations were especially apparent in the Porong market shelter as the people had been deprived of housing, health, education and a decent living.
"We want to know who is responsible for these human rights violations, especially ones related to environmental rights as provided for by the 1997 law and the 2007 law on people's economic, social and cultural rights," Syafrudin said.
He admitted, however, the finding the party responsible would not be easy due to the unclear status of the disaster -- whether it was a natural disaster or industrial disaster.
"The unclear nature of the disaster complicates the issue of finding who is responsible," he said.
Flood survivors struggling to survive
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Ponorogo
Residents affected by the recent floods and landslides in Central and East Java are struggling to survive in unstable surroundings.
Most of them have lost jobs, homes and family members in the disaster.
The floods and landslides took place almost simul-taneously on Dec. 25 and Dec. 26.
The disaster claimed the lives of four people in Ngawi regency, East Java and 67 people in Karanganyar regency in Central Java. Besides the fatalities, the floods and landslides caused damage to hundreds of homes.
The government asserts the disaster was caused by high rainfall, while environmentalists say deforestation also played a key role.
A flood survivor from Mandaan village, Kota district in Ponorogo regency, Mbah Surip, 81, appeared strong in the face of trouble. She was cleaning up mud as much as 10 centimeters thick after her house was hit by a 2 meter flood on Dec. 26. Other residents, too, were busy moving their belongings and cleaning their homes.
Mbah Surip did the work on her own. She has lived alone in this house since the death of her husband 20 years ago.
"I am grateful to be safe from the disaster, although some parts of my house have collapsed and been swept away by the flood," she told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Mbah Surip was asleep when floods struck. It was raining heavily that night and water inundated the village up to knee height. The water gradually rose to the level of her bed, and she awoke and cried out for help.
She had no time to light a candle and save her belongings, since the water was already one meter deep. She waded out into the dark and rain, and was eventually carried by a fellow resident to a double-story house. 
"Water rose higher and higher and entered my nose and mouth. I shut my eyes and held tightly to theshoulders while praying," she said.
"At one point I thought I would die. I struggled and am fortunate to be alive," added Mbah Surip.
She never thought a huge flood would swamp her village because such an incident had never happened before in her life.
The Ponorogo regency administration apparently was not prepared for the disaster because it was late providing help to survivors. It had to borrow rubber dinghies from private com-panies and the Indonesian Military.
Due to the delay, the village where Mbah Surip lives was cut off. Rescue workers were hesitant to evacuate survivors there due to swift currents flowing through the village.
Mbah Surip and 200 other villagers, including children and the elderly, were forced to stay at other residents' houses on higher ground. They survived without food for more than two days, and suffered from the cold because their clothes were wet or swept away by floods.
"To stay alive, I and the other residents searched for food, such as vegetables, that had been carried away by the current. We cooked the vegetables and divided them equally," said Mbah Surip.
The flood in Ponorogo has subsided now, but it still poses a risk to other areas, such as Bojonegoro in East Java, due to the overflowing Bengawan Solo River.
Like Ponorogo, there is a shortage of evacuating equipment in Bojonegoro, which is hampering the process of moving people and belongings out of harm's way.
"We face an acute shortage of evacuating equipment and the conditions in shelters are unfavorable due to the lack of medicine, food and clothing. The government has not coordinated the situation well," said a health staffer who is posted in Ponorogo and Ngawi.
The Perak Maritime Meteorological and Geophysics Agency in Surabaya predicted continuing high rainfall until the end of the year.
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