VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

There is potential for coastal flooding in several regions of Indonesia from December 8–10, head of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Dwikorita Karnawati, informed at an online press conference on Wednesday.

"Maximum tidal height will likely increase, which could potentially lead to coastal flooding," she said.

In addition to bad weather, high waves, and high-speed winds, the potential flooding will coincide with the new moon phase and the perigee, she added.

The Moon is closest to the Earth at perigee, when its gravitational pull on tides also increases, she said.

Coastal flooding is forecast to impact several regions, including Natuna Islands, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung Islands, Ternate Island, and Halmahera Island, she added.

In addition, provinces, such as Lampung, Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, West Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, West Papua, and Papua, will be affected by the phenomenon, Karnawati said.

Furthermore, it is possible that the phenomenon will also occur on December 18–22, 2021, due to the full moon phase, she added.

Coastal flooding could also be caused by the increasing intensity of extreme weather from December 2021 to February 2022 due to the Asian monsoon and the La Nina phenomenon, the BMKG head said.

The condition will become worse due to active cyclonic circulation and a cold surge in the South China Sea, which could increase wind speeds significantly to around 25 to 30 knots, she added.

It may cause wave height in the Natuna waters to reach four to six meters, she forecast.

Meanwhile, the rising wind speed in the Pacific Ocean will increase wave heights in the northern part of eastern Indonesia, she said.

"Hence, we advise the public to stay vigilant to anticipate the impact of the high waves and coastal flooding,” Karnawati added. (Antaranews)

Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Bintang Puspayoga has said she will travel to Lumajang District, East Java, this week to ensure that children and women victims of the Mount Semeru eruption receive special protection.

In particular, she said, she wants to ensure their specific needs are met during the emergency period by distributing specific aid to them, according to a press release issued by the ministry on Wednesday.

The assistance will complement the assistance program of the Social Affairs Ministry and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency's emergency response, which specifically targeted women and children, the minister noted.

She said she hoped that the rights of children and women refugees would be fulfilled and they would receive special protection from the risks of the disaster, emergency assistance, and both basic and specific needs.

"We hope that they will find a proper and child-friendly refuge, children can be prevented from separation from their parents or family, and children can be prevented from becoming victims of discrimination and mistreatment," she elaborated.

The minister highlighted that her ministry is continuously coordinating with the East Java provincial government and the Lumajang district government regarding this matter.

"The provincial team has been dispatched, bringing recreational kits from the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry," Puspayoga said.

At least 292 children, two pregnant women, and around 234 women are among the thousands of refugees affected by the Semeru eruption, she noted. Most of them are women and children with specific rights and needs, she added.

To improve the National Disaster Mitigation Agency's work, the ministry has compiled guidelines for the integration of rights protection and fulfillment of women, children, and other vulnerable groups in the national disaster mitigation system, she said.

The guideline is a disaster mitigation guideline with a gender perspective, which has been integrated into the agency's operational guidelines, she informed. It details the distribution of the specific needs of women and children in emergency response actions, she said. (Antaranews)

The National Police's Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team has announced that it has received the bodies of 34 victims of the Mount Semeru eruption, and, as of Wednesday, 17 of them have been identified.

"On Tuesday evening, the DVI team received one body part while today, they got three more bodies," National Police spokesperson Sen.Coms.Ahmad Ramadhan informed.

Therefore, as of Wednesday, the National Police's DVI team has received 34 bodies to be identified, Ramadhan said at a press briefing at Dr. Haryoto Public Hospital in Lumajang district, East Java province.

On Wednesday, the DVI team identified seven more bodies, taking the total number of Semeru victims whose bodies have been identified to 17, he disclosed.

The identification could be carried out quickly thanks to the information provided by the victims' families to the DVI team about the victims' identification marks, including moles and tattoos, he said.

Among the Semeru victims who have been identified are Mani (60), Zakira Talita Salsabila (4), Ani Tri Hartini (23), Dwi Santoso (35), Mustofa (37), Budi Cahyono (40), and Didik Aprianto (30), he said.

Meanwhile, to evacuate victims of the Mt Semeru eruption, the East Java Police has prepared 14 excavators, which will be operated by Lumajang Police in coordination with the Mount Semeru Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Of the 14 excavators, four will be deployed in Curah Kobokan village in Pronojiwo sub-district and ten in Jarit village, Pasirian sub-district.

The East Java Police have also provided eight dump trucks, one tanker truck containing diesel fuel, and two trucks carrying excavators to assist in the evacuation of victims.

On Tuesday, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inspected areas affected by the eruption of Mount Semeru to ensure assistance for refugees.

"I come here to ensure that we have put in all our efforts to find the remaining victims and evacuate them," he stated in Lumajang district.

"We are also looking at the plan to repair infrastructure damaged by the eruption," President Widodo said.

Mount Semeru, located in two districts in East Java province -- Malang and Lumajang districts -- erupted on December 4, 2021, at around 3 p.m. local time. The mountain spewed incandescent lava while emitting rumbling sounds and thick gray smoke. (Antaranews)

Jakarta Vice Governor Ahmad Riza Patria has said he will check the veracity of a recent report about four Jakarta residents being exposed to the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

“So, we will check and study the information. The health office has also followed up on it and we will make public the result later on,” he said here on Wednesday.

The vice governor said he will coordinate with the Jakarta Health Office to check the information.

Information on the spread of the coronavirus is very important for the Jakarta provincial government to prevent its transmission, he added.

“Such information is important for us to pass it on to the relevant agencies to respond to it,” he explained.

Earlier, chief of the Bekasi District Health Office, Sri Enny Mainiarti, had said that four Jakarta residents had been exposed to the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

It is believed they were exposed to the new variant of COVID-19 while traveling abroad, Mainiarti added.

They were confirmed positive for the new variant based on a sample test at a laboratory in West Cikarang, Bekasi district, the official said.

However, COVID-19 vaccination spokesperson for the Health Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the report on Omicron variant cases in Bekasi, West Java, was unfounded.

“That is not true. No Omicron variant case has been found in Indonesia so far,” she said on Wednesday.

She said the Health Ministry has verified the information with the laboratory in West Cikarang.  (Antaranews)