January 31, 2025
JAKARTA – The Central Java administration has urged residents to remain vigilant against hydrometeorological disasters as the province will likely continue to see moderate to heavy rainfall until next month.
The region has already faced devastating disasters triggered by extreme weather in the past month, including 29 floods and seven landslides.
According to the Central Java Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), the series of disasters affected 15 out of 35 regencies in the province, claiming at least 27 lives and impacting thousands of residents.
Six villages in Kudus regency remain submerged under floodwaters ranging from 20 to 60 centimeters deep since last week, severely disrupting resident’s daily activities.
Extreme weather that struck the regency on Wednesday also triggered multiple landslides and knocked down several trees, causing damage to residential areas.
Flooding has also affected railway tracks in Grobogan regency since last week, forcing state-owned railway company, PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), to cancel or reroute dozens of train services.
Acting Central Java governor Nana Sudjana announced that authorities have implemented several weather modification efforts over the past month and plan to continue these measures in the near future.
“The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency [BMKG] predicted that the peak of extreme weather during this rainy season will occur in January and February across the province,” he said recently.
“So I urge regents, mayors and the public to remain vigilant and proactive against hydrometeorological disasters,” Nana added.
Nana urged officials to establish evacuation routes and designate locations for temporary shelters in the event of emergencies. He also stressed the importance of restoring forest landscapes and increasing awareness about the detrimental effects of deforestation.
BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati said that Central Java was expected to see a significant increase in rainfall from Monday to Saturday, particularly in Pekalongan, Boyolali and Batang Regency where heavy to very heavy rainfall was likely.
She added that the extreme weather was driven by a combination of global atmospheric phenomena including a weak La Nina in the Pacific Ocean, the dynamics in the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves and the Asian monsoon.
These factors collectively contribute to a wetter rainy season across the archipelago.
“This means that another devastating disaster, like the one that occurred in Pekalongan recently, could happen again. We must strengthen our mitigation efforts,” she said on Wednesday.
Hours of torrential downpour triggered a flash flood and landslide that hit at least nine villages in Pekalongan regency on Jan. 20.
In Kasimpar village, the hardest-hit area, the landslide buried three houses and hit a coffee shop where people had sought shelter from the rain. The severe weather also triggered a flash flood, which reportedly swept away several individuals fishing at a nearby pond.
The incident claimed 25 lives, with one person still missing as authorities concluded their search and rescue efforts on Monday. The disaster also injured 14 residents.
BMKG’s Dwikorita urged the public to stay alert for signs of landslides from cliffs, such as water leakage, bulging, trees suddenly leaning, the appearance of cracks or land subsidence and difficulty opening windows or doors in homes located near steep slopes.
“If you notice any of these signs, evacuate the area immediately and report them to authorities,” she advised.