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Selasa, 24 Mei 2011

Treacherous Volcanic Mud Extends Merapi Suffering

Nivell Rayda & Candra Malik
  
 Serunai Team visited Desa Salakan, Magelang, Central Java, which part of the villages buried under the cold lava flood from Kali Putih river. (FOTO: SERUNAI)

Muntilan, Central Java, The Jakarta Globe. Rasminah has become increasingly paranoid over the past few months. Although her home was spared in the cataclysmic eruptions of Mount Merapi last year, the 35-year-old mother of four is bracing for the prospect of yet another calamity from the surging waters of the Putih River.

“I can’t sleep at night, especially when it rains,” she said, adding that since early this month she had chosen to stay at a temporary shelter rather than the comfort of her home.

The raging waters have eroded much of the edge of the river, and Rasminah’s house, standing on the edge, is on the brink of falling off the 20-meter-tall cliff.

She said that the edge of the cliff used to be at least five meters away from her wall. Now the gap is just a few centimeters.

The Putih River is just one of four that run through the town of Muntilan, Central Java. Since January, all of them have swollen, drowning homes and farms and cutting off access from Magelang, Central Java, to neighboring Yogyakarta province.

The four rivers have been the source of worry for people living along the banks. Tons of volcanic ash that still covers much of the slopes and foothills of the Mountain of Fire has caused the soil to lose most of its absorbency with devastating results. Known as lahar, the volcanic mud can have devastating consequences.

“This is where the water reaches,” Yusuf, a resident of adjacent Gempol village said, pointing to a line two meters high indicating the severity of the flooding.

Around 70 houses in Gempol were destroyed by a series of floods five months ago. Water and rocks traveling at 50 meters per second smashed into buildings and houses, ripping them off of their foundations. The worst-hit area is still covered in mud almost three meters thick, burying homes and farmland.

Surono, the head of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG), said the torrents of lahar would continue to pose a serious threat for at least the next four years.

He said last year’s eruptions dumped an estimated 150 million cubic meters of ash and rock onto Merapi’s slopes. It is estimated that more than two-thirds of that remains on the mountain.

Heri Prawoto, head of the Magelang Disaster Mitigation Office, said that in Central Java, 106 homes had been destroyed by the mud flow, or lahar . Another 323 have suffered heavy damage while 196 houses endured minor to moderate damage. He said 11 more houses, including Rasminah’s, were still at risk.

Seven months after Merapi began its biggest eruptions in a century, approximately 5,600 people still live in makeshift shelters in Central Java. The torrents of lahar have added another 3,400 evacuees.

But the impact of the volcanic mudflow is best observed in Yogyakarta, south of the mountain. The autonomous province is also where most of the rivers from Merapi flow to, with major waterways like the Code and Progo rivers overflowing with volcanic mud for the past several months.

The lahar carried by the rivers has damaged or destroyed 1,000 homes in March alone.

Disaster mitigation head Heri said that authorities had been trying to ease the problem by dredging the rivers and building levees. However, many of the levees have proven too weak in the face of the mud.

Yuni Rahayu, deputy head of Sleman district in Yogyakarta, said that the series of overflows had put a strain on an already depleting budget for disaster response. “The loss that we have experienced due to the eruption of Mount Merapi reached more than Rp 5 trillion [$585 million] and that is before the lahar disasters,” she said.

The deputy district head said that her administration had been so preoccupied in saving lives as calamities occurred one after another that major rehabilitation work had stalled. Fourteen major bridges, hundreds of school buildings and more than 2,600 houses had been destroyed by the recent disasters, she added.

In Muntilan, workers rush to build retainer walls to save homes from eroding soils while dams are constructed to control the flow of the four rivers that run through the town.

“We’re trying to finish the walls as fast as we can,” said Firman, a construction manager, pointing to the area where Rasminah’s house was located.

“Let’s hope there won’t be any more flood, because by the looks of it this cliff will surely erode. Just one major flood is enough to destroy this entire community.”

Source: The Jakarta Globe  May 24, 2011

Senin, 02 Mei 2011

Banjir Lahar Dingin Terjang 52 Rumah Penduduk



Amuk Banjir Lahar Dingin Merapi yang Dahsyat dan Merusak. Hujan deras yang mengguyur puncak Gunung Merapi mengakibatkan terjadinya banjir lahar dingin hingga Kota Yogyakarta, seperti yang ada di bantaran Kali Code, Ledok Tukangan, Danurejan, Yogyakarta, Senin (29/11/2010). Sebagian besar rumah yang ada di bantaran Kali Code tergenang air hingga satu meter dan merusak sejumlah prasarana umum seperti jembatan dan talud. FOTO: KOMPAS/WAWAN H. PRABOWO

YOGYAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Lahar dingin Merapi menerjang 52 rumah penduduk dan dan merusak 15 hektar sawah di Dusun Kayen, Desa Sindumartani, Ngemplak, Sleman. Peristiwa itu terjadi setelah Tanggul Bangsan jebol diterjang lahar dingin Gunung Merapi. 

"Sebanyak 50 rumah rusak berat dan dua di antaranya rusak sedang," kata Camat Ngemplak Endang Widowati, Senin (2/5) di lokasi bencana, Dusun Kayen, Desa Sindumartani, Ngemplak, Sleman. 

Selain merusak rumah dan areal persawahan, satu unit mobil pick up dan satu traktor tangan hanyut terbawa lahar dingin. Dilaporkan pula, lahar menerjang Peternakan Armafarm sehingga 6.000 ekor ayam petelur hilang dan tiga ekor kambing milik warga hanyut. Akibat bencana lahar dingin ini, 52 kepala keluarga terpaksa diungsikan ke SMA IKIP Veteran, Bimomartani, Kecamatan Ngemplak, Sleman. Sebagian besar warga tak sempat menyelamatkan barang-barang mereka.

Pasca-erupsi Merapi medio Oktober-November 2010 lalu, banjir lahar dingin mengancam sejumlah kawasan. Diperkirakan, banjir lahar dingin akan terus terjadi dalam waktu lama, terutama saat hujan mengguyur.
Balai Penyelidikan dan Pengembangan Teknologi Kegunungapian Yogyakarta memperkirakan, bahaya lahar dingin dari material vulkanik hasil erupsi Gunung Merapi akan berlangsung dalam waktu yang lama. Pihaknya memperkirakan ancaman banjir lahar dingin bisa hingga mencapai lebih dari satu tahun.

"Volume material hasil erupsi Gunung Merapi yang telah terbawa sebagai lahar dingin masih sangat kecil sehingga ancaman lahar dingin masih bisa terjadi dalam waktu lama, bahkan bisa lebih dari satu tahun," kata Kepala Balai Penyelidikan dan pengembangan Teknologi Kegunungapian (BPPTK) Yogyakarta Subandriyo di Yogyakarta, pada Selasa (30/11/2010) lalu.

"Material vulkanik hasil erupsi Gunung Merapi tersebut tidak akan turun seketika menjadi lahar dingin, tetapi akan turun dalam volume-volume kecil dalam waktu yang cukup lama," jelasnya.

Ia mengatakan, ancaman bahaya lahar dingin tidak akan sebesar ancaman letusan Gunung Merapi yang berupa awan panas. "Namun, lahar dingin kemungkinan akan lebih sering terjadi dibanding awan panas, terlebih pada musim hujan," kata Subandriyo.

Lahar Dingin Rusak Lahan 10 Ha
Sementara itu sebelumnya, banjir lahar dingin yang mengalir dari hulu Gunung Merapi juga telah  merusak sekitar 10 hektar lahan pertanian di sekitar Kali Juweh, Desa Jrakah, Kecamatan Selo, Kabupaten Boyolali, Jawa Tengah.

"Kami telah mendata jumlah lahan pertanian sayuran di sepanjang aliran sungai berhulu Merapi di Desa Jrakah itu. Yang rusak diperkirakan sekitar 10 hektar," kata Tumar, Kepala Desa Jrakah, di Boyolali, Jumat (15/4/2011).

Menurut dia, lahan pertanian tersebut merupakan tanah milik desa yang digarap oleh petani setempat. Lahan yang sudah ditanami sayur mayur itu hancur terbawa lahar dingin beberapa waktu lalu.

"Lahan itu merupakan salah satu penghasilan gaji perangkat desa setempat. Lahan khas desa yang longsor mencapai enam hektar, sedangkan sisanya milik warga sekitar," katanya.

Menurut dia, sejak bencana erupsi hingga peristiwa banjir lahar dingin, perangkat desa hanya mengandalkan gaji dari pemerintah karena lahan pertanian mereka sudah rusak terbawa banjir.

"Kami sudah melakukan pengecekan ke lokasi untuk didokumentasi. Kerugian dari lahan khas desa longsor ini mencapai sekitar Rp 125 juta," katanya.

Ia mengharapkan pemerintah daerah setempat mengganti tanah khas desa yang longsor.

Pihaknya akan mengadakan rapat desa untuk membahas masalah tersebut. Hasil rapat dapat disampaikan ke Pemkab guna mencari solusi.

Menurut Tumari, longsor tersebut juga mengakibatkan para petani gagal panen.

"Warga menggarap sayur mayur yang siap panen. Akhirnya mereka hanya bisa gigit jari karena sayuran ikut longsor terbawa lahar dingin," katanya.

Para petani yang menggarap tanah kas desa akhirnya tidak bisa apa-apa dan mereka tidak mampu menyetorkan pajak hasil panen ke desa setempat.

Sekolah Terkubur, Ujian di Rumah Warga
Banjir lahar dingin juga mengganggu pendidikan anak-anak. Puluhan siswa sekolah dasar (SD) Negeri 1 Sirahan, Salam, Magelang, Jawa Tengah terpaksa mengikuti ujian akhir sekolah (UAS) di rumah penduduk. Pasalnya, bangunan sekolah mereka telah terkubur material Merapi. Material setinggi 1-2 meter itu berasal dari luapan Sungai Putih yang meluap usai diterjang banjir lahar dingin Merapi.

"Bukan hanya ujian nasional ini saja, bahkan dua bulan terakhir, kegiatan belajar mengajar (KBM) juga dilakukan di rumah penduduk," ungkap Katam, Kepala SD Negeri Sirahan 1, Salam, Magelang, Senin (4/4/2011).

Menurut Katam, pihaknya terpaksa meminjam rumah warga untuk KBM, karena kondisi bangunan sekolah yang tidak memungkinkan. Parahnya, sejak sekolah ini terendam, 16 dari 84 siswa pindah sekolah. Mayoritas mereka ikut orang tua yang pindah ke rumah saudaranya, terutama orang tua yang sudah tidak memiliki rumah setelah hilang hanyut diterjang banjir lahar.


Sumber: KOMPAS: Aloysius Budi Kurniawan, Inggried (52 Rumah Penduduk Diterjang Banjir Lahar Dingin); Benny N. Joewono (Banjir Lahar Dingin Rusak Lahan 10 Ha); A. Wisnubrata (Sekolah Terkubur, Ujian di Rumah Warga).
FOTO: Wawan H. Prabowo