TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia had been stricken by a total of 197 natural disasters during the January 1-23 period, according to data of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

Most of those disasters were hydrometeorological disasters, the agency wrote on its official Twitter account on Saturday.

The disasters comprising 134 floods, 31 landslides, and 24 whirlwinds, claimed 184 lives, injured, 2,700 people, rendered nine people missing, and affected or displaced 1.9 million people.

In January 2020, during the same period, BNPB recorded 297 disasters affecting across Indonesia, particularly massive flooding in Jakarta and surrounding areas, and claiming 91 lives.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned of likely hydrometeorological disasters such as floods, landslides and whirlwind, occurring simultaneously in several regions during the peak of the ongoing rainy season.

"Since October 2020, the BMKG has issued early warnings of potential extreme weather-related conditions due to various phenomena that are feared to coincide with the rainy season," BMKG Head Dwikorita Karnawati said.

A powerful earthquake recently rocked West Sulawesi and claimed nearly 100 lives, and destroying homes, infrastructure, and public facilities.

In South Kalimantan, massive floods triggered by incessant heavy rains, inundated 10 districts and cities, and paralyzed the local economic and daily activities in the province.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), while visiting Banjar District, South Kalimantan, on January 18, said that the massive flooding was the first to have occurred in the province in the past 50 years. The 10 flood-affected districts and cities are Tapin, Banjar, Banjar Baru, Tanah Laut City, Banjarmasin City, Hulu Sungai Tengah, Balangan, Tabalong, Hulu Sungai Selatan, and Batola.

The floods claimed 15 lives, swamped 24,379 houses, and displaced 39,549 people.

Also Read: Indonesia Records 2,276 Natural Disasters Since Early January

ANTARA