APSN Banner

Natural disasters 2024, BNPB: 5.6 million people displaced, 469 dead, 58 still missing

Source
Tempo - December 23, 2024

Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – More than 5.64 million people have been victims of natural disasters in various regions in Indonesia throughout this year, from January 1 to December 22, 2024. They suffered and had to evacuate due to floods, landslides, tornadoes, earthquakes, land fires, volcanic eruptions, and moving soil.

The National Disaster Management Agency or BNPB reported that during that period there were 1,942 natural disasters that hit almost all of Indonesia. The number of fatalities due to this was 469 people. Those who are still missing are 58 people, while 1,157 people were injured.

The impact of the disaster also resulted in more than 61,554 units of residents' houses being damaged and 10,821 of them were severely damaged. Natural disasters were also recorded as damaging public facilities such as 387 houses of worship, 47 health service centers (hospitals, health centers, integrated health posts, etc.), and 515 school buildings. In addition, more than 100 kilometers of road infrastructure and thousands of bridges were affected.

Among the thousands of disasters throughout this year, the flash flood of cold lava from Mount Marapi in May killed 67 people, left 20 missing, and injured at least 44 people. In total, more than 3,650 people had to be evacuated. The affected areas included Agam Regency, Tanah Datar, Padang Pariaman, Padang City and Padang Panjang.

The flash flood of cold lava swept away 35 bridges and damaged more than 150 meters of road. As a result, the land transportation route from Padang-Bukittinggi-Padang Panjang-Tanah Datar-Solok-Lima Puluh Kota and other areas was paralyzed. This disaster was also declared a national disaster.

This year was also marked by several volcanoes erupting. On January 23, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, NTT, spewed volcanic material, causing 5,547 residents of four villages to evacuate and four of them to die.

The 1,584-meter-high volcano erupted again on November 4, 2024, nine months after residents had returned to their homes. This eruption killed nine people and seriously injured one person, one of whose legs had to be amputated.

(Picture above) A number of refugees watch as hot lava and columns of smoke emerge from the crater of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki at a self-help evacuation site in the hills of Pululera Village, Wulanggitang, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Monday, November 11, 2024. ANTARA/Aditya Pradana Putra.

In total, more than 13,000 people were affected by the eruption, and around 6,000 of them had to be relocated to occupy new homes and environments for safety reasons. These victims were residents of 14 villages in the administrative areas of Ile Bura, Titehena, and Walanggitang Districts in East Flores Regency.

Mount Ruang, located in the Sitaro Islands, North Sulawesi, also erupted in April 2024. As many as 12 thousand people had to be evacuated. They were residents of the villages of Pumpente, Laingpatehi, Mahangiang, Tulusan Barangka Pehe, Apengsala, Lesah Rende, Pahiama, Boto, Leseh, Bahoi and Balehumara.

Data from BNPB recorded that as many as 3,614 houses, two churches, and one school building were damaged due to being hit by ejected material and shocks when Mount Ruang erupted. The damage was further exacerbated because the distance between residents' houses and the peak of Mount Ruang was close, namely under a radius of around 8-10 kilometers.

On May 18, 2024, more than 400 people were evacuated after Mount Ibu in West Halmahera Regency, North Maluku, erupted for the second time. The hundreds of people evacuated came from seven villages in West Halmahera. Fortunately, there were no fatalities in this incident, but the volcanic activity of the mountain is still ongoing at this time with Alert status or Level III.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1955845/natural-disasters-2024-bnpb-5-6-million-people-displaced-469-dead-58-still-missin

Country