JAKARTA, Jan 14 (NNN-ANTARA) – Four people were killed in the Indonesian city of Batam, located in the Riau Islands province, after a landslide struck a housing complex, early yesterday. The disaster also injured five others and destroyed five houses, according to the province’s disaster mitigation agency.
Hendrija, the agency’s head of the rehabilitation and reconstruction division, told local media that, heavy rains had been falling in the Riau Islands since the previous Friday and were expected to continue until next Saturday. He later urged the public to remain vigilant and alert, for potential further hydrometeorological disasters.
“We plan to implement roadblocks to the housing complex, as part of the emergency response. We don’t want more victims,” he said.
Indonesia frequently experiences hydrometeorological disasters during the rainy season. Last Nov, the country’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency warned that the country is currently entering the rainy season, with rainfall intensity expected to increase by between 20 and 40 percent, due to a weak La Nina, which typically brings wetter conditions.– NNN-ANTARA
