As it looks like we're just getting out of the blistering heat of the past couple of weeks, Indonesians may have to brace themselves for more extreme weather and disasters that may result from them, the disaster agency has warned.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) warned that with the coming monsoon season, many parts of Indonesia will be susceptible to deadly natural disasters such as floods, landslides and tornadoes.
"Those disasters have been deadly in the past few years," BNPB spokesman Agus Wibowo told Jawapos yesterday.
Even before the seasonal change, BNPB says it recorded 57 tornadoes, eight landslides and seven floods throughout Indonesia in October. Four people died in those disasters, while hundreds were displaced from their homes.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said that 20 percent of Indonesia has entered the rainy season, while the rest are expected to follow throughout November and early December. The agency says that up to mid-November, heavy rains are expected to be a regular occurrence in Aceh, West and North Sumatra and parts of Papua, while Jawa, Bali and Kalimantan will see more moderate levels of precipitation.
Jakarta has long suffered floods during the rainy season that cause massive amounts of property damage and paralyze large swathes of the capital. However, the last deluge that debilitated most of the city took place in 2015 and the years since have mainly seen flooding limited to a few perennially high-risk areas.