TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) of West Java chapter recorded an increase in the number of natural disaster that hit the province.
West Java Chapter of Walhi Executive Director Dadan Ramdan said that in 2016, at least 656 natural disasters hit West Java, an increase from 525 natural disasters in 2015.
The year 2016 was a wet year and saw many extreme weathers and such condition impacted the environment in the province in 2016.
It also reported that almost 600 out of 5,962 villages were affected by natural disasters such as landslide, floods, flashfloods and tornadoes.
“Areas that saw most natural disasters were Sukabumi, Garut, West Bandung regency and Bogor regency,” Dadan said.
Walhi also reported that at least 126 in the province were killed due to the natural disasters, as opposed to 101 in 2015.
ANWAR SISWADI