Jakarta – Indonesia was hit with 1,985 natural disasters from Jan. 1 to Nov. 11, the highest in 10 years. Disaster numbers are expected to increase due to unstable hydrological conditions, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has said.
The agency predicts Indonesia will face more natural disasters until January next year because of this year's strong La Nina weather phenomenon, which has caused heavy rains and extensive flooding across the nation.
"Regions previously unaffected by natural disasters are now susceptible to calamities. Several areas in Bandung, West Java, for example, have flooded on account of not being able to accommodate extremely large volumes of rain," said BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho in a data released on Sunday.
The BNPB states 659 out of the 1,985 natural disasters were floods, followed by whirlwinds and landslides, which reached 572 and 485 incidents, respectively.
It further says the disasters have affected 2.52 million people, 375 of whom have died and 383 were injured in the incidents.
Although there is still one month left before the end of the year, the BNPB data, which records 1,985 natural calamities, suggests that 2016 is the most devastating year Indonesia has seen in the last 10 years. The second-worst year was 2014, during which the country suffered 1,967 disasters.
"We predict rainfall will increase until it peaks in January next year. Our data shows that in Indonesia, January is the month with the most disasters," Sutopo said. (adt/ebf)