Pematang Siantar-Parapat Cut Off

KOMPAS/ISMAIL ZAKARIA

Three vehicles, consisting of one bus, one minibus, and one truck, are dragged out of the road by landslide materials in the Sitinjau Laut area, Lubuk Kilangan sub-district, about 10.6 kilometers east of Padang, West Sumatra, as seen on Friday (14/12/2018). One of the local residents died, one severely injured, and another one slightly wounded in the incident. The landslide, that occurred on Thursday night, cut off the traffic lane from Padang to Solok and other areas in West Sumatra and to other provinces such as Jambi, South Sumatra, and Lampung for almost 12 hours.

PARAPAT, KOMPAS – The Pematang Siantar-Parapat national highway has been completely cut off after it was buried on Tuesday (12/18/2018) at around 4:45 p.m. by a landslide in Sibaganding village, Girsang Sipangan Bolon district, Simalungun regency, North Sumatra. No casualties were reported, but three cars were buried in the mud.

As of 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the main road that connects Medan and Lake Toba has remained impassable. “The workers had cleared the road, but more heavy rain and landslides arrived so the cleanup was halted. We are currently focusing on diverting traffic to alternative routes,” said traffic unit head Hendri Barus of the Simalungun Police.

The landslide occurred at the Twin Bridge (Jembatan Kembar) located 1 kilometer from downtown Parapat. The bridge and a 100-meter road section were buried under 50 centimeters of mud.

The traffic from Parapat to Medan was backed up for 10 kilometers and is increasing in length. Many motorists have decided to wait until the route was cleared, as the alternative routes were too far away.

Traffic from Parapat is being diverted to the Siborong-Borong road in North Tapanuli regency. From there, motorists can take the mountain road through Dolok Sanggul, Sidikalang and Berastagi towards Medan.

This alternative Parapat-Medan route is 360 kilometers long, a 10-hour car ride. In comparison, the Medan-Parapat national highway is half that length at 180 kilometers, a three-hour car ride.

Vehicles from Medan to Parapat, Tapanuli and Sibolga are being diverted to Jl. Pematang Purba-Parapat, from where motorists can travel directly to Saribu Dolok, Sidikalang, Dolok Sanggul and then to Siborong-Borong.

Simalungun Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Mudahalam Purba said that the agency had readied both workers and heavy equipment, but was still waiting for the rain to stop.

The mud-and-rock landslide also buried three cars. “Three passing vehicles were buried and cannot be recovered yet,” said Purba.

A 10-wheeler truck and a minibus had overturned on the bridge, while one pickup truck was stuck on the road.

Data and information head Syahnan of the Medan Meterology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said that medium- to heavy-intensity rainfall with

thunderstorms and strong winds would continue in North Sumatra. It was expected to rain in the region throughout December.

Geological disaster

In Bandung, West Java, reports forecast a high risk of geological disasters occurring from the yearend through early 2019. The increasing intensity of rainfall was increasing the soil movement hazard in many regions. Any increases in volcanic activity would also be monitored.

Soil movement mitigation head Agus Budianto at the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM) said that many regions were seeing an increased risk of soil movement. These regions included Aceh, North Sumatra, from West Sumatra to Lampung, West Java, the central and southern areas of Central Java, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua.

“People should watch for potential soil movement or landslides, especially on roads and in residential areas located on hills, mountains and riverbanks,” Agus said.

He said that landslide hazards were generally influenced by geological conditions, slope steepness, the soil’s absorption capacity, changes in surface flow and poor drainage. Higher rainfall intensity could cause more landslides.

The BMKG’s analysis shows that rainfall was currently decreasing in western Sumatra, but it was increasing in South Sumatra, Lampung, West Java and Central Java.

Earlier, BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati advised the people of several regions to be wary of the potential for extreme weather, especially on Dec. 20-22. The extreme weather was triggered by the stronger current of cold air from Asia interacting with the winds over convergence zones in South Sumatra and West Java. (NSA/TAM/AIK)