Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
—
Indonesian Forum for the Environment (
Walhi
) North Sumatra rate
flash flood
which has hit a number of areas recently is not solely the result of extreme weather.
Walhi North Sumatra Executive Director Rianda Purba said the flood was also the result of massive forest damage and land conversion.
Based on Walhi’s records, in the last 10 years, 2 thousand hectares of forest in North Sumatra were damaged.
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“The destruction of forests there was caused, yes, triggered yes, by several companies. So we deny the statement from the Governor of North Sumatra that the flooding was due to extreme weather. But the main trigger was not this extreme weather, the main trigger was forest destruction and land conversion from forest to non-forest,” said Rianda in a press conference, Monday (1/12).
He said the government’s decision in 2014 regarding changes in the status of forest areas opened the door for companies to enter and damage the ecosystem on Batang Toru Hill.
“In particular, the Batang Toru or Harangan Tapanuli ecosystem area was arbitrarily changed from forest, its legal status to non-forest, to APL. Well, one of them is Decree Number 579. So, from there, a lot of investment entered the ecosystem area,” he said.
On that occasion, Rianda also said that Walhi received a report about conditions in Kwala Serapuh Village, Langkat Regency, which according to him had not received assistance.
According to him, the government has not yet recorded flood victims in the area.
“They have been without a food supply in Langkat for 5 days. This is a coastal village which has also been submerged, after all, it has often been a victim of tidal floods, yes, then in Besitang too. So, now they have no food supply at all and have not been recorded as victims affected by the flood in the Langkat area,” he said.
The North Sumatra Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) previously recorded that the number of victims due to floods and landslides that hit a number of areas in the province was increasing as search and rescue operations were still being carried out intensively.
“The total number of affected residents currently reaches 360,216 heads of families or 1,358,348 people. Of this number, 226 people have been found dead and 188 are still missing,” said Head of Emergency Management, Equipment and Logistics of the North Sumatra BPBD, Sri Wahyuni Pancasilawati, Monday (1/12) morning.
Apart from fatalities, 603 people were injured.The wave of displacement also continues to increase as the risk remains high in a number of locations.
(fra/yoa/fra)
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