Conservationists blame reckless development for deadly floods

Less than a week after Indonesia faced its third round of deadly landslides and flash floods this year, some local environmental advocates are saying the sheer impact of the natural disasters is the result of more than just bad weather. At least 26 people, including an 8-month-old baby and eight children, were left dead as […]

Less than a week after Indonesia faced its third round of deadly landslides and flash floods this year, some local environmental advocates are saying the sheer impact of the natural disasters is the result of more than just bad weather.
At least 26 people, including an 8-month-old baby and eight children, were left dead as torrential downpours pounded the vast tropical archipelago.
A National Disaster Management Mitigation Agency spokesperson was quick to warn of increasingly heavy rains through January, partly because of La Nina, the opposite of El Nino, which has a general cooling effect.
In the Garut district of West Java, among the hardest hit areas, where 18 people remain missing, Abetnego Tarigan, director of Friends of the Earth Indonesia, the country’s largest environmental organization, says man-made factors are also putting lives at risk.
“The function of this catchment area has changed,” he told VOA’s Indonesia Service, describing a natural watershed area that has been subject to commercial development in recent years.