February 2, 2015 - INDONESIA
- Heavy rainfall across Indonesia has caused flooding and landslides,
resulting in the death of at least 2 people and damage to over 5,000
homes.
Bali
Floods and landslides killed two people in Karangasem district,
Karangasem, Bali on 31 January 2015. Two others were injured in the
landslide which occurred after heavy rainfall in the region.
West Nusa Tenggara
Floods have damaged at least 4,000 houses in the Dompu and Woja districts, West Nusa Tenggara.
The
flood inundated between 4,000 and 5,000 houses in the area. Some houses
located on riverbanks encountered floodwaters 4 meters deep, nearly
submerging them. The overflowing Laju, Silo, Soa, Raba Baka and Toi rivers were blamed for the flood in Dompu.
East Java
Major flooding has hit a number of villages in Bojonegoro, East Java,
over the last several days due to overflow from nearby rivers, including
Mekuris and Pancal. Some areas are said to be under 80 cm of water.
Around 50 houses and a health centre have been damaged by the floods in
Gondang.
Around 7,000 people in Nganjuk regency have been cut off after floods caused a bridge in Sawahan district to collapse.
South and Central Kalimantan
Heavy rain forced the Benawa and Barabai rivers to overflow in South
Kalimantan, flooding parts of Batu Benawa and Barabai districts.
WMO report that 109 mm of rain fell in 24 hours to 02 February 2015 in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan.
Jakarta
Several areas of Jakarta are again underwater after 2 days of heavy
rain across the capital. Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta and Duri Kosambi
in West Jakarta and Petogogan, Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta are said
to be worst hit.
WMO report that 104 mm of rain fell over a 24 hour period to 02 February 2015 in Tanjung Priok, Jakarta.
Further Heavy Rainfall
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG)
warned there could be worse to come as the peak of the rainy season is
set to hit.
Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency
(BNPB) called on people to exercise caution during the current spate of
severe weather.
Provinces with high potential for heavy
downpours over the next three days include West Nusa Tenggara, Lampung,
West Java, Central Java, East Java, Central Kalimantan, South Sulawesi,
Southeast Sulawesi, Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua. - Floodlist.
June 20, 2014 - INDONESIA - Six people have been killed and three others are missing after torrential rains sparked a landslide in Indonesia’s West Java province.
Residents salvage belongings from their
houses destroyed by a landslide at a village in Kudus district in
Indonesia’s Central Java province on January 22, 2014.
Director of Bogor Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Yos Sudrajat said
the incident took place at around 1:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday (1830
GMT Monday) in Bogor district of the province, the English-language
newspaper Jakarta Globe reported.
“The torrential rain poured over the Mekarwangi village, in the Cariu
subdistrict, and triggered the collapse of a 30-meter-high slope and
buried five houses,” he noted.
“We are still searching for three more people, while seven
have been rescued and sustained only minor injuries. They have been
treated,” Yos said, adding that 30 BPBD workers have been deployed to
the area to search for the victims.
Bogor Police chief, Adjutant Senior Commander Sony Movianto said 100
police officers and soldiers have taken part in rescue operations.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the national disaster management agency said seven people have been rescued safely.
Floods and landslides have repeatedly battered Indonesia in recent
years. During Indonesia’s annual rainy season, which peaks between
December and February, the country is prone to flooding, exacerbated by
clogged rivers and sewers.
In January, at least 23 people lost their lives in days of flash floods and landslides in the Southeast Asian country.
Officials say an average of 541 people have died every year from floods and landslides in Indonesia over the past decade. - Press TV.
February 25, 2014 - INDONESIA -
At least 11 people have been killed and two others are missing after torrential rain triggered landslides in Indonesia's remote eastern Papua province.
Search and rescue teams evacuate people from their flooded houses in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 19, 2014.
The national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho says the landslides hit parts of Jayapura, the capital of the province, after heavy rains on Saturday night.
They engulfed buildings in the city, leaving 15 houses badly damaged and 40 houses lightly damaged.
Deadly landslides and flooding are common during the vast archipelago's six-month rainy season.
Widespread flooding in the capital Jakarta in January left five people dead and more than 60,000 displaced. - ABC Australia.
At least 11 people have been killed in floods and landslides in Indonesia’s eastern province of Papua, the country’s disaster agency says.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the agency, said on Monday that two people also went missing in the Saturday night flooding, which had been triggered by torrential rains.
Nugroho added that the landslides and floods hit three locations in the provincial capital of Jayapura and caused damage to more than 50 houses.
He said that rescue efforts were underway to find the missing people and to open access to the affected areas.
During Indonesia’s annual rainy season, which peaks between December and February, the country is prone to flooding, exacerbated by clogged rivers and sewers.
In January, at least 23 people lost their lives in days of flash floods and landslides in the Southeast Asian country.
Officials say an average of 541 people have died every year from floods and landslides in Indonesia over the past decade. - Press TV.
January 23, 2014 - INDONESIA - In the past two
weeks, floods and landslides have hit parts of Indonesia, particularly
Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan Islands, and continue to spread
further, thereby claiming more lives as torrential rains continue to
lash.
Death And Displacement Mount In Indonesia Floods.
Girl struggles through the flooded streets of Jakarta.
In Jakarta, the number of refugees has shown a steep rise from
30,784 people recorded on January 19, to 89,334 people on January 22,
2014. The death toll rose from seven to 12.
The floods that commenced on January 14, have affected 34
subdistricts, 100 urban villages, 444 neighborhoods, 672 families, and a
total of 134,662 residents in the capital city, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a
spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) stated on
January 21.
In the North Sulawesi Province, the death toll due to the floods
and landslides has risen to 19: six in Manado, six in Tomohon, six in
Minahasa, and one in North Minahasa. In Manado alone, 85,831 people or
23,204 families were affected and over 10 thousand houses were damaged.
Vice President Boediono and Chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross
(PMI) M. Jusuf Kalla, former vice president, visited Manado on Tuesday
(Jan. 21) to disburse relief aid and collect first-hand information
about the damages inflicted by the natural disasters.
In the West Java Province, incessant torrential rains have
triggered floods in seven districts such as Karawang, Bandung, Bekasi,
Subang, Indramayu, and Depok City, thereby inundating thousands of
houses.
Most of the floods in those districts were caused by the rivers overflowing their banks or by the breaking down of dikes.
Thousands of houses in the Bandung Selatan district were inundated
when the Citraum River overflew its banks in Baleendah.
"Floods waters continued to expand and inundated more areas since
Saturday," noted Suherman, a resident of Cieunteung Baleendah.
In Karawang, the worst-affected district in West Java, the local
administration has declared a state of emergency as 28 out of the 30
subdistricts have been flooded in the past few days.
In Karawang, tens of thousands of houses in 173 villages have been
inundated over the past few days, after a number of rivers overflowed
their banks due to the heavy rains.
"Karawang has declared a state of emergency for the next 14 days,
effective January 19," Karawang District Head Ade Swara remarked in a
press statement released on January 20.
On January 21, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and First Lady
Ani Yudhoyono visited Kerawang and took time to meet the evacuees and
examined the on-site facilities. He also extended relief aid to the
evacuees.
Parts of the Indramayu District, also in the West Java Province,
have been isolated as a result of the incessant rainfall. Flood waters,
reaching a height of 1.5 meters, submerged farming areas, while the
flood victims are in desperate need of clean drinking water and
electricity.
In the Bekasi District, in the same province, four elementary
school students were found dead on January 20, after being swept away by
the flood waters in South Tambun, two days earlier.
The West Javas Subang District suffered material losses amounting
to US$2.6 million or Rp32 billion due to the floods since last Friday
(Jan. 17).
Photo document of residents evacuated joint team with rubber boat in housing Total Persada,
Pot, Tangerang, Banten, on Monday (Januari 20, 2014). (ANTARA/Lucky R.)
Desperate residents cling to their belongings as they try to escape the rising waters.
"We have set up several temporary relief shelters for the people
who were forced to abandon their homes due to the flooding. Each shelter
is equipped with a kitchen and health service center," reported Abdul
Rahman, a spokesman of the Subang District administration.
The 13 subdistricts inundated by the floods include Pamanukan,
Pusaka Jaya, Compreng, Blanakan, Tambakdahan, Sukasari, Legon Kulon,
Pabuaran, Ciasem, Pusakanagara, Patok Beusi, Pagaden, and Binong.
In Central Java Province, the floods have submerged hundreds of
homes in the Kudus and Pakalongan Districts, following incessant heavy
rains that caused some rivers to overflow.
A landslide killed 12 residents from Duku Kembangan, Menawan
village, Gebog subdistrict, and Kudus, on Tuesday evening (Jan. 21). The
landslide completely buried five houses and damaged three others.
Of the 12 casualties, however, only one body was retrieved, while
the rest are believed to be buried under the mud and debris, reported
Suroso, head of the social affairs office of the Menawan village.
In Pekalongan, the heavy rains that triggered a landslide and
floods over the past few days displaced around seven thousand people,
stated Susiyanto, a spokesman of the Pekalongan district administration
on Monday (Jan. 20).
West Nusa Tenggara was also struck by flash floods, forcing at
least 917 people in the district of Sambelia, Lombok Timur, to flee to
safer grounds.
"They have chosen to evacuate due to the floods that struck
yesterday, and they have now been accommodated in three shelters," the
provinces head of public relations, Tri Budiprayitno, noted on Wednesday
(Jan. 22).
The Obol-Obol, Tandongan, and Batusela rivers, located at the foot
of Mount Rinjani, overflowed after incessant rains triggered flooding.
Four bridges and a prayer house have been wrecked, while three
kilometers of roads have been eroded and around 80 hectares of rice and
corn fields have been inundated by the floods.
On the Sumatra Island, several provinces including South Sumatra,
West Sumatra, and Jambi, have also been inundated due to high rainfall.
In the Tangerang District, Banten Province, at least 11 thousand houses were flooded.
To help the victims of natural disasters such as floods,
landslides, and volcanic eruption, the National Police (Polri) and the
Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) have asked their officers to be on vigil
to handle the calamity.
Jakarta flooded.
Motorists brave the flooded streets of the capital.
Some 3.5 thousand policemen from the Police Headquarters and Mobile
Brigade will be soon deployed in the disaster-affected areas,
Commissioner General Badrodin Haiti, the head of the Police Headquarters
Security and Maintenance Department remarked in Jakarta, on Wednesday
(Jan. 22).
They will support the local police officers in their efforts to
assist the natural disaster victims till March, the police officer
noted.
Meanwhile, some 19,357 military officers have been deployed to help
the victims of natural disasters, which have currently struck parts of
Indonesia.
TNI Chief General Moeldoko has instructed all the military officers
across Indonesia to be on high alert during the ongoing rainy season,
as the country has received excess rainfall, TNI spokesman Colonel
Bernardus claimed in Jakarta, on Tuesday (Jan. 21).
Among other things, the TNI has set up flood mitigation command
posts in Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Sumatra, and Manado.
During 2013, Indonesia was hit by 693 natural disasters, of which,
there were 262 landslides, 95 flash floods, one volcano eruption, 94
whirlwinds, and 171 categorized as other disasters. - Antara News.
Flood, Landslide In Central Java, Indonesia Kill 13.
Widespread floods and landslide caused by consecutive days of heavy
downpours have wreaked havoc on Kudus district of Central Java, leaving
13 people dead and forcing 4,000 residents to evacuate, a local official
said on Wednesday.
Five rivers have been bloated by torrential rain since Sunday and burst their banks, hence swamping several spots at the district, said P. Jumadi, head of the disaster agency of the district.
On Wednesday, some of the residents were still wading through 1. 5-meter deep water to evacuation centers, many of which are placed in village administration offices, said Jumadi.
The downpours also incurred landslides in Menawan village of Gebog sub-district, seriously damaging two houses, said Jumadi.
"As many as 4,025 people are taking shelters in 20 evacuation centers," he told Xinhua over phone from the district.
"The rain also triggered landslides. Piles of soils slid off from a hill and slammed two houses at the downside at midnight on Monday. All 12 people were killed in one of the houses and another person in the other house," said Jumadi.
On Wednesday, soldiers and villagers were still trying to retrieve the corpses from the wreckage of the crumpled houses, he said.
"So far they have retrieved two bodies and with bare hands they dig the soil to find out the others," said Jumadi.
Elsewhere in Karawang of West Java, floods have receded and more than 10,000 evacuees have returned homes, and in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, some of the displaced persons have started returning homes to clean their houses as the floods recede, but they are still reluctant to return at night, according to officials.
Seasonal downpours have often incurred floods in Indonesia, a chain of 17,500 islands where millions of people live in vulnerable flood plains that are near to rivers. - CNTV.
January 19, 2014 - INDONESIA - The death toll in days of floods
and landslides in Indonesia has climbed to 23, an official said
Saturday, as torrential rain pounded the capital.
Vehicles drive on a flooded road in Jakarta on January 17, 2014 (AFP Photo/Bay Ismoyo)
Families in Jakarta neighbourhoods waded through murky chest-high flood waters, clutching their belongings, while others were ferried to safety in rubber dinghies, local TV stations showed.
"Five people have died in Jakarta so far from drowning or electrocution in the floods," National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nurgoho told AFP.
More than 4,300 people in the capital have been displaced by the floods, which also worsened the city's notorious traffic jams.
Meanwhile the death toll rose to 18 late Friday in the northern part of Indonesia's Sulawesi island, which has suffered flash floods and landslides. Two people there are still missing, Nugroho said.
WATCH: Jakarta floods worsen as further downpours arrive.
The Sulawesi deluge, which ripped more than 100 homes from their foundations, is receding as the downpour there eases, Nugroho said, adding that three-quarters of the 40,000 people initially displaced there have returned to their homes.
Indonesia is regularly hit with deadly floods and landslides during its wet season, which lasts for around six months.
Environmentalists blame logging and a failure to reforest denuded land for exacerbating the floods. - Yahoo.
Government Allocates 3.3 BILLION In Aid For Flood Victims.
Residents wade through a flooded area in Jakarta on January 13, 2014 (AFP Photo/Bay Ismoyo)
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) handed Rp 3.3 billion
(US$272,344.71) to the North Sulawesi administration to help speed up
disaster relief efforts after massive flash floods and landslides hit
several regions in the province, killing at least 16 people and
temporarily displacing about 40,000.
“The financial aid has been
given directly to North Sulawesi’s governor [Sinyo Harry Sarundajang],”
BNPB head Syamsul Maarif said at the State Palace on Thursday.
As
of Thursday, the number of fatalities stood at 16, but the number could
rise as search and rescue efforts had been being intensified, he added.
A search for two villagers was still being carried out, Syamsul said.
Torrential
rain over the past several days triggered massive landslides and flash
floods on Wednesday, affecting six regencies and municipalities almost
simultaneously, according to the BNPB.
More than 1,000 houses were flooded by overflowing rivers, forcing thousands to flee to shelters.
As the weather had improved, about 60 percent of displaced persons returned to their homes on Thursday, Syamsul said.
“Some
areas were still isolated because landslides have blocked some vital
roads. As a result, the distribution of logistics was hampered,” he
said.
Children (right) in a flooded street in their neighborhood in downtown Jakarta on January 18, 2014
(AFP Photo/Bay Ismoyo)
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the BNPB, as
well as the local administration to boost efforts to help mitigate the
disaster. “The current weather has been predicted to last four months,
so I hope we can be better-prepared. Anytime disaster strikes, we should
be able to respond quickly and precisely,” he told a Cabinet meeting.
Coordinating
Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said the bad weather could contribute to
an inflation rise. “The government has been assessing the situation in
order to determine necessary efforts to maintain the stability of staple
food prices,” he said.
In Jakarta, flooding has receded and most
evacuees have returned home, according to Jakarta Disaster Mitigation
Agency (BPBD) management control head Basuki Rahmat.
Flooding in the capital has claimed four lives and temporarily displaced 5,547 people since Monday.
However,
some evacuees have opted to remain at the shelters as their homes still
need to be cleaned. As many as 1,135 residents affected by floods in
Pengadegan, South Jakarta, for example, will remain at a number of
shelters as they wait for floodwater to totally subside.
Rumors
about a possible flash flood in Jakarta early on Thursday that
circulated through text message and social media networks alerted many
residents. The information turned out to be false, but Basuki reminded
coastal area residents to be prepared for possible flooding in the
coming days.
“The Meterology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predict that there will be high tide during the full moon,” he said.
The
Public Works Ministry will close part of Jl. TB Simatupang in South
Jakarta to repair a part of the road that collapsed during flooding.
Ministry
spokesperson Danis H Sumadilaga said in a press release that the
ministry would replace drainage culverts and elevate the road by 1-
meter to avoid runoff.
The ministry had earmarked Rp 2.5 billion
for the roadwork, which would start by rebuilding the road’s foundation.
“The work is estimated to be completed in 17 days,” he said.
During
construction, traffic will be diverted to Jl. Jatipadang and turn into
Jl. Ragunan Raya, which heads to the Pasar Minggu area. - Jakarta Post.
November 06, 2013 - INDONESIA - A dormant supervolcano lying beneath Lake Toba in Indonesia has the potential to erupt again, scientists have said.
Geologists believe Mount Toba, which has erupted at fairly regular intervals over the last 1.2 million years, still poses a threat with its huge magma chamber and should be studied to assess the risk of a fresh eruption.
The president of the Indonesia Geological Experts Association, Rovicky Dwi Putrohari, has told the Jakarta Post about the danger Mount Toba poses.
"Our researchers were able to find the location and dimensions of the magma chamber of Mount Toba," he said. "Later research will find out the potential volume of magma in the volcano for triggering an eruption."
Tomography studies detected the magma chamber beneath Lake Toba. They found it was located at a depth of between 20 and 100km.
Putrohari said that a number of studies relating to the supervolcano were presented during a three-day conference held by the Indonesian Geological Experts Association and the Indonesian Geophysics Experts Association.
Studies showed that Mount Toba has erupted four times in the past - 1.2 million years ago, at 840,000 years ago, 500,000 years ago and then again around 74,000 years ago.
Mount Sinabung in Indonesia erupted earlier this month (Reuters)
The last eruption is recognised as the biggest known eruption ever to have taken place on Earth. The Toba catastrophe theory relating to this eruption suggests the event caused a decade-long global volcanic winter that was possibly followed by 1,000 years of cooling.
The blast was 100 times greater than the largest volcanic eruption in recent history - Mount Tambora in 1815.
Putrohari said the magma chamber still inside Mount Toba could erupt at any time if the Sumatra fault line reactivated, as it runs directly through the volcano.
"A quake could reactivate the magma chamber which is so far dormant. That's why we believe Mount Toba could erupt again at any time. When it will be, we don't know. Thorough and continuous research is needed to find that out."
Andi M Adiwinata, from the Indonesian Geophysics Experts Association, added: "The researchers are currently working to find out how big the potential threat from Mount Toba is. Despite being categorised as inactive, its development needs further monitoring." - IBT.
June 20, 2013 - SINGAPORE - Singapore's prime minister has warned that the haze engulfing the city could last for weeks, as air pollution in the city-state soared to record levels.
The pollution standards index peaked at 371 on Thursday, breaking previous records and well above hazardous levels, before falling to about 300.
The haze is caused by illegal forest fires in Indonesia's Sumatra island.
The issue has sparked accusations between the two neighbours over who is responsible for the smog.
Environment officials from the two nations are holding an emergency meeting in Jakarta on Thursday.
Many residents have donned face masks amid government warnings that those who can should stay at home.
The haze, caused by slash-and-burn land
clearance on Indonesia's Sumatra island, has hit other parts of the
region, including Indonesia's Riau islands, just off Singapore.
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister, wrote on his Facebook wall that he would demand "definitive action" from Jakarta.
"No country or corporation has the right to pollute the air at the expense of Singaporeans' health and wellbeing," he said.
However, Indonesian Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said that Singapore was "behaving like a child".
"This is not what the Indonesian nation wants, it is because of nature," he said.
'Cloud seeding'
Since the haze arrived, Singapore's buildings have been obscured by the polluted air and the smell of burnt wood has permeated the city-state.
A PSI reading above 200 indicates "very unhealthy" air, while a PSI score above 300 is "hazardous". Readings are being posted on the website of the National Environment Agency.
At a press conference, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the haze could "easily last for several weeks and quite possibly longer until the dry season ends in Sumatra".
The haze, which has obscured much of Singapore's skyline, has brought with it a strong smell of burnt wood.
On Thursday the pollution standards index
(PSI) hit 371, breaking all previous records. A reading of more than 300
means the air is officially "hazardous".
Mr Lee asked Singaporeans to "stay indoors where possible and avoid heavy outdoor activities".
He also announced that the Singaporean government will hold daily press conferences on the haze situation.
Air traffic controllers in Singapore have been told to work with extra caution given the poor visibility, while McDonald's has temporarily cancelled its delivery service.
The Singaporean military has also reportedly suspended all outdoor training.
The poor air quality has prompted widespread buying of disposable face masks, leading shops to run out of stock.
Parts of Malaysia have also recorded "hazardous" pollution levels, with over 200 schools in the country's south ordered to shut.
Malaysia's Department of Environment has also banned open burning in some states. Transboundary pollution
Indonesia's forestry ministry said it intended to use cloud seeding to try to induce rain on Sumatra, AFP news agency reported.
Haze caused by forest fires in Indonesia is continuing to choke Singapore, shrouding the city-state.
The fires are started to clear land for plantations and generate smoke, particularly in the dry season.
Indonesian officials have suggested that foreign palm oil investors, including Singaporean companies, may bear some responsibility for the fires.
However, several major Singapore-based palm oil companies have denied any involvement.
Singapore's prime minister said the city-state had provided satellite data to Indonesia to help identify who was responsible for the fires.
WATCH: Apocalyptic smog in Singapore.
He added that if any Singaporean companies, or companies with a presence in Singapore played a part in the fires, they would be held responsible.
In 1997 and 1998, many countries in the region were affected by the South East Asian haze, which was caused by smog from Indonesian fires.
Road and air traffic was disrupted, and reports said the smog made around 20 million people ill.
The haze led to an agreement on transboundary haze pollution being approved by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2002.
However, Indonesia has yet to ratify the agreement. - BBC.
March 07, 2013 - INDONESIA - Around 1,500 people were evacuated today after the Tangkuban Perahu volcano in Western Java spewed lava and ash.
According to a National Volcanology Agency report published by the
Indonesian Antara News agency, the volcano began to spew volcanic
material during the early morning and later the mountain spewed a 200
meter high column of ash.
In response, the administration of
Western Java has prohibited the entry of tourists and others in a
1.5-kilometer area around the crater, as clarified by Yayah Suheryanto,
head of the emergency unit of the National Agency for Disaster
Management. - Prensa Latina.
Indonesian officials examine the crater of Tangkuban Perahu volcano in Subang, West Java, Indonesia, Thursday, March 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Kusumadireza)
Indonesia scientists say they are closely monitoring a smoking volcano on Java island, urging villagers and tourists to stay off the mountain's slope.
Government volcanologist Hendra Gunawan said Thursday that Mount Tangkuban Perahu in West Java province shot up smoke and ash nearly 500 meters (1,640 feet) into the air since Monday, and was placed at the second-highest alert level.
It does not send debris or lava far down its slopes and nearby towns and villages were in no danger, but authorities warned tourists off limit its danger zone of 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the crater, citing a build up of poison gas inside the peaks.
The 2,084 meter (6,837 feet)-high mountain is one of Java's most popular tourist attractions where people can hike to the edge of the crater to view boiling mud up close. It last erupted in 1983. - Huffington Post.
Tangkuban Perahu (spelt Tangkuban Parahu in the local Sundanese dialect) is a dormant volcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, Indonesia. It last erupted in 1959. It is a popular tourist attraction where tourists can hike or ride to the edge of the crater to view the hot water springs and boiling mud up close, and buy eggs cooked on the hot surface. This stratovolcano is on the island of Java and last erupted in 1983.
Together with Mount Burangrang and Bukit Tunggul, those are remnants of the ancient Mount Sunda after the plinian eruption caused the Caldera to collapse. In April 2005 the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard
Mitigation raised an alert, forbidding visitors from going up the
volcano. "Sensors on the slopes of the two mountains - Anak Krakatoa on the southern tip of Sumatra
Island and Tangkuban Perahu in Java - picked up an increase in volcanic
activity and a build up of gases, said government volcanologist Syamsul
Rizal."
A study conducted in 2001 determined that Tangkuban Perahu has erupted
at least 30 times in the previous 40,750 years. Studies of the tephra
layers within 3 km of the crater revealed that twenty one were minor
eruptions and the remaining nine were major eruptions. The eruptions
that occurred prior to approximately 10,000 years ago were magmatic/phreatomagmatic. The eruptions that occurred after 10,000 years ago were phreatic." The volcano erupted as recently as February 21, 2013. - Wikipedia.
February 18, 2013 - INDONESIA - Four children were among 17 people killed over the weekend in central Indonesia after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides, officials said on Monday.
The children, aged between two and nine, died along with 13 adults when flooding and landslides hit the northern part of Sulawesi island early Sunday, provincial disaster management agency spokesman Howke Makawarung told AFP.
Residents salvage their belongings while floods inundate the city of Manado on February 17, 2013.
Four children were among 17 people killed over the weekend in central Indonesia after heavy rains
triggered floods and landslides, officials said.
"We recorded 17 people killed. All bodies were found on Sunday," he said, adding that heavy rains had hit three areas, including the North Sulawesi provincial capital of Manado which saw water levels up to four metres (13 feet).
Water, which inundated around 5,000 houses in Manado, had receded by Monday and residents had begun cleaning up their homes.
A landslide which hit the city killed a six-year old boy.
"He was taking a bath in the morning when a landslide suddenly struck his house," the capital deputy mayor Harley Mangindaan told AFP.
Rescuers search for the victims of a landslide in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Sunday.
Landslides and floods triggered by torrential rain hit seven sub-districts in the provincial capital Sunday.
Photo: AP.
Indonesia is regularly affected by deadly floods and landslides during its wet season, which lasts for around six months.
Environmentalists blame logging and a failure to reforest denuded land for exacerbating flooding.
Heavy rains caused flooding in the capital Jakarta in January that left 32 people dead and at its peak forced nearly 46,000 to flee their homes. - France 24. WATCH: Various news coverage of the floods in Indonesia.
February 07, 2013 - INDONESIA - On 17 January water flooded into several Jakarta neighbourhoods,
claiming more than a dozen lives and causing the evacuation of 18,000
residents. Even the city centre was affected. The papers featured
pictures of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono paddling in the garden of his official residence, his trousers rolled up to the knee. "I
have sent a letter to the Agency for Assessment and Application of
Technology (BPPT) to move the clouds to the north [the sea]," city
governor Joko Widodo told reporters at city hall last month. He did not
go into details about how this might be done, explaining that it was
possible to use weather engineering technology to control clouds.
Deep water... A man carries his child as a family makes its way through north Jakarta.
Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty.
Indonesian
meteorologist Armi Susandi was dubious about this strategy's chances of
success. "Most likely the rain will fall in Jakarta instead of the
sea," he told the daily Jakarta Post. Floods are a recurrent
problem for the Indonesian capital. In 2007, harsh conditions caused 50
fatalities and displaced 300,000 people. According to specialists,
channels need to be built to contain the city's 13 rivers, with tunnels
to divert floodwater and pumping stations on the northern, seaward side. Widodo admitted that combating flooding
is an uphill task. "It's a very complicated problem. The Dutch built
300 dams and lakes, but there are only 50 left. The wetlands, woods and
other green spaces north of the city have been taken over by housing
complexes and malls. You can't just demolish everything," he said.
Forecasters fear there will be more heavy rainfall before the end of the
monsoon in March, as the battle against the rising tide remains a problem.
Sukristiono
Sukardjo, a professor of mangrove ecology at the Indonesian Institute
of Sciences (LIPI), published a gloomy opinion piece in the Jakarta Post
last month, echoing the governor's fears: "The city represents an
exceptional concentration of 10 million people located close to the
sea's edge and therefore vulnerable to rising sea levels […] It is now
only a matter of time before mangroves are totally erased from the map
of Jakarta," he wrote. Sukardjo highlighted the contradiction
between the "unbridled urbanisation and industrialisation programmes
initiated by the government, which, in the same breath, pronounces its
concern about Jakarta's ecological balance". It remains to be seen
whether Widodo, 52, will live up to his reputation. He was elected
governor last September. At the beginning of the year he finished third
in the 2012 best mayor contest organised by the World Mayor Project, a
tribute to his success at his previous job in the city of Solo, Java.
Establishing a green belt round the town is thought to have prevented a
repetition of the flooding which hit Solo in 2005. But the capital is a
much bigger challenge. - Guardian.
January 18, 2013 - INDONESIA - Heavy flooding in the Indonesian capital this week has killed 12 people, driven thousands from their homes and paralyzed the sprawling city -- and officials are warning that more water is on its way. Caused by unusually strong monsoon rains, the flood waters -- often carrying trash and human waste -- have inundated the city's central business district, closed schools and offices, and entered the presidential palace.
People wade through floodwaters in Central Jakarta district on January 18, 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
With around 95,000 people affected in different areas of the city, authorities have declared a state of emergency to allow use of national funds and other resources. About 19,000 people have relocated from the worst affected districts to safer areas. January is typically the wettest month in Jakarta, the political and economic capital of southeast Asia's largest country. But the low-lying city has already experienced more rainfall since Tuesday than it usually gets in the entire month of January. Amid about a foot of water, workers scrambled Friday to clean up the mess near where a dike had burst a day earlier, flooding the central business district. Soldiers heaped sandbags on a railroad line to form a makeshift defense close to the dike.
The situation in the central district appeared to be improving, but some of the worst-hit areas of the city remained under water, with more flooding expected to arrive over the course of the day. A lot of the water falling in the vicinity of Jakarta, which has a population of around 10 million people, must go through the city's rivers and canals before reaching the Java Sea. Thousands of people have fled their homes in neighborhoods along the banks of the Ciliwung River, the cause of some of the worst flooding and considered by many to be one of the dirtiest waterways in Indonesia. In Kampung Melayu, an eastern neighborhood near the Ciliwung, many people remained at home Thursday, sitting on top of roofs or wading inside to try to salvage belongings and secure the premises. Large amounts of water were expected to flow down the Ciliwung on Friday, generated by rains over the hilly area around the city of Bogor, which lies south of Jakarta. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Board has warned of more heavy rainfall in the next few days, the city government said. Fresh flooding was likely to bring the risk of more casualties. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said nearly half of the 12 killed in the floods since Tuesday were electrocuted. - CNN.
WATCH: Jakarta floods forces tens of thousands out of their homes.
January 17, 2013 - INDONESIA - Heavy monsoonal rains have triggered severe flooding across the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, with many government offices and businesses forced to closed because staff could not get to work. Authorities said four people were killed and 20,000 had to evacuate.
Heavy rains bring capital to a standstill, with downpours expected to continue. People try to get their scooters
through monsoonal floodwaters in Jakarta. Photograph: AP/Achmad Ibrahim.
Weather officials warned the rains could get worse over the next few days and media reports said that thousands of people in Jakarta and its satellite cities had been forced to leave their homes because of the torrential downpours this week.
"For the next two or three days it is estimated that there may be increasing activity of the Asian monsoon which could increase weather activity in southern Sumatra and Java," said Soepriyo, an official at the Indonesian meteorological agency.
This year's rainy season has brought some of the heaviest downpours in five years. In the centre of Jakarta, overflowing with cars at the best of times, traffic was brought to a near standstill by waist-high floodwaters.
The city's main airport remained open but many roads leading to it were reportedly blocked. Most commuter train services and the bus system were closed.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange did open but trading was light.
The presidential palace, the finance and agricultural ministries and the central bank were all open, spokesmen said. The trade ministry said it was forced to close because of a power cut triggered by the flooding. - Guardian.
January 05, 2013 - INDONESIA - Hundreds of ducks in Takmung village, Klungkung regency, Bali, have died suddenly, with avian flu suspected as the cause.
I Wayan Sudia, a duck breeder in Takmung village, said he had lost hundreds of his ducks.
“Laboratory reports show my ducks were infected by bird flu,” I Wayan Sudia told reporters on Thursday as reported by Antara news agency. “The symptoms included cloudy eyes and seizures,” he added.
Two months ago, Sudia bought 500 ducks in Tabanan regency, about 200 of which have died in the past few days.
Disinfectants have been distributed to breeders in the village for free to prevent the flu from spreading. - The Jakarta Post.
December 31, 2012 - INDONESIA - Experts in Indonesia are preparing to build a huge wall to stop the ocean from swamping parts of Jakarta. Some suburbs in the capital already go underwater when there is a big tide but the problem is expected to get even worse. Jakarta is sinking by up to 10 centimetres a year and Indonesia's national disaster centre says with oceans rising, large parts of the city, including the airport, will be inundated by 2030.
Increasing sea levels caused some parts of north Jakarta to flood during a high tide in 2009 (Reuters: Supri Supri).
Flooding and high tides are already causing problems for some residents in the city of 10 million people. Kartoyo's roadside food stall is swimming in about 30 centimetres of water. "It has been easier," he said. "This kind of flood is manageable but hopefully it won't get higher." "The people here before, they couldn't even go to the market because of the flood and the children couldn't go to school." In 2009 the council built a small sea wall, but the ocean still pushes its way up through the drains and into homes. But while some suburbs still go under and the roads are rivers, residents across town have the opposite problem. Juriah lives next to a new development, one of the many pushing skywards as Indonesia's economy booms, but the water supply to her suburb has disappeared. "Because the development project next door sucks up all the water, the water stopped since the project started - about three months ago. That's what caused it I think," she said. "I use a small water pump, and no water flows. "In the beginning there was a little water but in the end it just stopped."
As developers suck up the watertable it dries out and the city slumps into the empty cavity. "From our observations, since the 1960s the ground water has declined around 30 metres," the head of water resources at Indonesia's energy and mineral resources ministry, Dodid Murdohardono, said. "The decline of ground water causes pressure in the groundwater lining and that's why Jakarta is sinking." Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, an expert hydrologist with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, says if the problem is not remedied, it could have massive consequences. "If this continues, the area will have permanent flooding will increase especially with the additional increase of sea level in Jakarta Bay or the Java Sea, which is around seven millimetres per year," he said. "If our efforts aren't fast enough compared to the causes, more than five million people could be affected." The city's given itself less than 20 years to sort it out. To curb the twin problems of the city sinking and the ground water drying up, the government's attempting to restrict the amount industries can take. "And in the next 30 years the government of Jakarta plans to build a giant dam around Jakarta Bay to anticipate the increased sea levels, tidal waves and land subsidence," Mr Nugroho said. "If the land sinking isn't resolved, then there will be widespread tidal waves that would cause more extensive flooding in Jakarta." - ABC Australia.
December 23, 2012 - INDONESIA - A torrential downpour led to floods and horrendous gridlock on several of Jakarta’s major thoroughfares on Saturday, as officials warned of a chance for more flooding in coming days. Traffic was at a near standstill on the city’s main artery, Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta, parts of which were under half a meter of water on Saturday. Only the dedicated Transjakarta busway lane and the outermost lane could be traversed.
Surf’s up: Motorists traverse a flooded Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta
following a heavy downpour on Saturday. (JP/P.J. Leo).
Flooding also fouled the streets near the Senayan traffic circle, the Casablanca area in South Jakarta, Jl. Kyai Tapa in West Jakarta, and on Jl. Surabaya, Jl. Gatot Soebroto, and Jl. Budi Kemuliaan, according to the Jakarta Transportation Agency. In Cikini, Central Jakarta, some vehicles broke down, further obstructing traffic, tribunnews.com reported. Separately, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has warned the city to brace for more floods and heavy rains. The inundated streets and gridlocked thoroughfares have frustrated Jakarta’s residents well before the peak of the rainy season, which is expected in late January, according to the National Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said clogged sewers, which he previously earmarked for a cleaning program, had worsened the floods on Saturday.
He said the administration had asked the Indonesian Military to send troops to clean the city’s sewers if other relevant agencies failed to aid Jakarta, as reported by Kompas.com on Saturday Jakarta Public Works Agency chief Ery Basworo said with or without the governor’s order, the agency routinely, if not every day, cleaned gutters to ensure proper drainage. He said that the two-meter-high drainage system on Jl. Sudirman and the pumps on Jl. MH Thamrin could stream 30 cubic meters of water a second into nearby rivers were examples of the “perfect” infrastructure that the city had in place to mitigate flooding. Ery attributed the floods on Saturday to the high intensity of rain and to the sedimentation of the city’s rivers. The capacity of the city’s 13 rivers to accommodate runoff water has sharply decreased due to the construction of homes, most of which are illegal and semi-permanent, on riverbanks. Ery said that the most reasonable solution was to dredge and expand the rivers under the Jakarta Emergency Dredging Initiative (JEDI), a joint program of the agency and the Public Works Ministry. Under the JEDI initiative, which has been funded by a US$150 million World Bank loan, 13 rivers in the city are to be dredged. - The Jakarta Post.
December 17, 2012 - INDONESIA - A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of central Indonesia Monday, the US Geological Survey said, sending panicked people rushing into the streets but there was no tsunami alert. The quake struck at 0916 GMT more than 160 kilometers (99 miles) south-southeast of Gorontalo in central Indonesia's Sulawesi Island at a depth of 18 kilometers. The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics agency (BMKG) measured it at 6.0 at a depth of 10 kilometers.
“The epicenter was in the sea but it doesn't have the potential to trigger a tsunami,” BMKG official Agung Utomo told AFP. “We haven't received any report of damage so far.” The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said the ground shook for several seconds. “The quake was quite strong and all the guests here -- about 30 people -- panicked and ran out into the street,” said Rudi Gowarno, manager of Ramayana hotel in the town of Luwuk. Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. A deep 6.0 magnitude also earthquake struck the New Britain region of Papua New Guinea on December 15th. - Times of India.
Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the New Guinea Region and Vicinity.
The Australia-Pacific plate boundary is over 4000 km long on the northern margin, from the Sunda (Java) trench in the west to the Solomon Islands in the east. The eastern section is over 2300 km long, extending west from northeast of the Australian continent and the Coral Sea until it intersects the east coast of Papua New Guinea. The boundary is dominated by the general northward subduction of the Australia plate. The western end of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary is perhaps the most complex portion of this boundary, extending 2000 km from Indonesia and the Banda Sea to eastern New Guinea. The boundary is dominantly convergent along an arc-continent collision segment spanning the width of New Guinea, but the regions near the edges of the impinging Australia continental margin also include relatively short segments of extensional, strike-slip and convergent deformation. The dominant convergence is accommodated by shortening and uplift across a 250-350 km-wide band of northern New Guinea, as well as by slow southward-verging subduction of the Pacific plate north of New Guinea at the New Guinea trench. Here, the Australia-Pacific plate relative velocity is approximately 110 mm/yr towards the northeast, leading to the 2-8 mm/yr uplift of the New Guinea Highlands.
Whereas the northern band of deformation is relatively diffuse east of the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border, in western New Guinea there are at least two small (less than 100,000 km²) blocks of relatively undeformed lithosphere. The westernmost of these is the Birds Head Peninsula microplate in Indonesia's West Papua province, bounded on the south by the Seram trench. The Seram trench was originally interpreted as an extreme bend in the Sunda subduction zone, but is now thought to represent a southward-verging subduction zone between Birds Head and the Banda Sea. There have been 22 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded in the New Guinea region since 1900. The dominant earthquake mechanisms are thrust and strike slip, associated with the arc-continent collision and the relative motions between numerous local microplates. The largest earthquake in the region was a M8.2 shallow thrust fault event in the northern Papua province of Indonesia that killed 166 people in 1996. Large earthquakes in eastern Indonesia occur frequently but interplate megathrust events related to subduction are rare; this is likely due to the disconnection of the descending oceanic slab from the continental margin. There have been 9 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded from the Kai Islands to Sumba since 1900. The largest was the great Banda Sea earthquake of 1938 (M8.5) an intermediate depth thrust faulting event that did not cause significant loss of life. - USGS.
December 10, 2012 - JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Tornado events in Indonesia increased 28-fold in the last 10 years and occupies 14 percent of the total incidence of natural disasters. This phenomenon Demand more serious attention to detect and anticipate to reduce disaster risks.
Illustration: Residents try to salvage their belongings after their houses collapsed tornado struck the blows that
hit the village of Purwomartani, Kalasan, Sleman, on Friday (12/07/2012). Although there were no casualties,
but dozens of homes in three villages in the sub-district were damaged by this incident.
COMPASS / FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO.
Head of Information, Public Relations and National Disaster Data Badang (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, in Jakarta, Sunday (09/12/2012), said all the events from 2002 to 2011 there has been a whirlwind 1564, or 14 percent of total disasters in Indonesia . "In the last ten years the incidence of cyclones has increased 28-fold. If the events of 2002 only 14 times. By 2006, there were 84 events. Whereas in 2010 there were 402 events," he said. Throughout the year 2011, tornado hit parts of Indonesia as many as 285 events with 21 people dead, 9081 people were displaced and 13,684 houses damaged.
From January to November 2012, tornado occurred as many as 223 times. A total of 33 people died, 294 were injured, and one person missing. Tornado disaster has an impact on the 41,675 people in Indonesia, the 2122 population was displaced. A total of 5083 houses were severely damaged and 1506 houses were slightly damaged. According to Sutopo, before the 1990's, we rarely experience the whirlwind. In that period, the incidence of hurricanes is only known in a few areas that are typical in the area, such as wind gending in East Java, North Sumatra Bohorok wind, and wind beetles in West Java. "But now the whirlwind reach areas that previously did not know. Shaped like a tornado also (for land) and cyclone (to the sea)," he said. Finally, tornado occurred in Sleman, Yogyakarta on Friday (7/12). The disaster damaging 1016 houses in three districts in Sleman. Another Bencan struck three districts, namely Kalasan, Ngemplak and Depok. A total of 18 people were injured dam 604 homes with minor damage, 302 were damaged, and 145 were heavily damaged. - Kompas [Translated].
November 28, 2012 - JAKARTA, INDONESIA - A strong earthquake struck the eastern part of Indonesia on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of damage. The magnitude-5.5 quake was centered 56 kilometers (35 miles) under the sea, the U.S. agency reported. Indonesian seismologist Fauzi, who uses one name, said there was no risk of a tsunami. Amelia Tagor, a resident of Tual, the town closest to the epicenter, said a brief tremor was felt, but no one panicked. "We felt it for a few seconds ... but it did not disturb our activities," she said. - Star Tribune.
USGS map.
Seismotectonics of the New Guinea Region and Vicinity.
The Australia-Pacific plate boundary is over 4000 km long on the northern margin, from the Sunda (Java) trench in the west to the Solomon Islands in the east. The eastern section is over 2300 km long, extending west from northeast of the Australian continent and the Coral Sea until it intersects the east coast of Papua New Guinea. The boundary is dominated by the general northward subduction of the Australia plate. The western end of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary is perhaps the most complex portion of this boundary, extending 2000 km from Indonesia and the Banda Sea to eastern New Guinea. The boundary is dominantly convergent along an arc-continent collision segment spanning the width of New Guinea, but the regions near the edges of the impinging Australia continental margin also include relatively short segments of extensional, strike-slip and convergent deformation. The dominant convergence is accommodated by shortening and uplift across a 250-350 km-wide band of northern New Guinea, as well as by slow southward-verging subduction of the Pacific plate north of New Guinea at the New Guinea trench. Here, the Australia-Pacific plate relative velocity is approximately 110 mm/yr towards the northeast, leading to the 2-8 mm/yr uplift of the New Guinea Highlands.
Whereas the northern band of deformation is relatively diffuse east of the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border, in western New Guinea there are at least two small blocks of relatively undeformed lithosphere. The westernmost of these is the Birds Head Peninsula microplate in Indonesia's West Papua province, bounded on the south by the Seram trench. The Seram trench was originally interpreted as an extreme bend in the Sunda subduction zone, but is now thought to represent a southward-verging subduction zone between Birds Head and the Banda Sea. There have been 22 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded in the New Guinea region since 1900. The dominant earthquake mechanisms are thrust and strike slip, associated with the arc-continent collision and the relative motions between numerous local microplates. The largest earthquake in the region was a M8.2 shallow thrust fault event in the northern Papua province of Indonesia that killed 166 people in 1996... Large earthquakes in eastern Indonesia occur frequently but interplate megathrust events related to subduction are rare; this is likely due to the disconnection of the descending oceanic slab from the continental margin. There have been 9 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded from the Kai Islands to Sumba since 1900. The largest was the great Banda Sea earthquake of 1938 (M8.5) an intermediate depth thrust faulting event that did not cause significant loss of life. -USGS.
November 21, 2012 - INDONESIA - Residents in Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta, have been friends with flooding. See, flooding continues to inundate the region does not preclude Haslan boy named Ali playing soccer with his friends.
Flood waters or not, it is business as usual at Pasar Ikan in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, on Friday. Increasing
land subsidence constantly inundated several parts of the northern coast of Jakarta. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A).
However, flooding becomes prohibitive Haslan to go to school. School textbooks he had saved from the flood, but shoes and his uniform is still wet. Friends with flooding, residents of Kampung Pulo around this by making a two-story house. That's what thousands of households in the region. As Haslan family home, while floods inundated houses, all members of the family lived on the second floor. All activities performed on the pool of water, ranging from cooking, washing clothes and other household activities.
Residents of Kampung Pulo are friends with the flood.
Hopes are now pinned on the new governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo. Through the Public Works Department he had prepared several strategies to overcome flooding. Monitoring systems will be done in the short term, ie within the period of six to eight hours of rain made the checking of waste and sediment in the river as well as the provision of water pumps on standby 24 hours. While the long term is to rob the construction of embankments, construction of dams, as well as development plans and programs Jakarta Great Wall row house that is still in the planning stages. In addition to the steps and the government plans, awareness of citizens are also required to preserve the environment. Garbage became inundated lack of awareness of evidence Capital prevent flooding. - Liputan [Translated].
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 jolted Aceh
province in northern tip of Sumatra island on Saturday, the Meteorology
and Geophysics Agency reported here.The USGS reported the quake was at 5.9 magnitude.
The quake struck at 11:34 a.m. Jakarta tme (0434 GMT) Saturday. The
epicenter was at 24 km northwest Kota Subulus Alam of Aceh province with
a depth of 103 km under the earth, an official of the agency told
Xinhua by phone.
The intensity of the quake was felt at 4 MMI (Modified Mercally
Intensity) in Blang Pidie and Sibolga and 2 MMI in Sibolga and 3 MMI in
Banda Aceh, he said. "No reports of damage or casualty are received so far, as the center of the quake was deep," the official said
Indonesia sits on a vulnerable quake-prone zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire". - Xinhaunet.
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