UGM Expert: Flash Floods In Batu City Show Ecosystem Disturbance

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YOGYAKARTA - Yogyakarta Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Disaster Expert, Prof. Suratman, said that the flash flood that hit Batu City, East Java showed that there was an ecosystem disturbance in the area.

"This flood is a warning for ecosystems that have been disturbed by humans," said Suratman, quoted by Antara, Friday, November 5.

Suratman said that ecosystem disturbance due to land use change by humans is one of the triggers for flash floods in Batu City.

Floods, he said, occurred because there was pressure to use land for agriculture and settlements.

According to him, the effect of population pressure on land use is no longer in accordance with the carrying capacity of the environment and the capacity of the land.

"It should be seen that as a water catchment area, a protected area should have a lot of trees. So it must control land openness and there is conservation," said the Professor of the UGM Faculty of Geography.

Meanwhile, in terms of the land system, said Suratman, the Batu City area has a landscape that is also prone to flooding.

Much of the area is in the form of slopes and hills. In addition, there are many areas with slopes above 40 degrees with a fairly thick soil thickness.

Some of these conditions, he said, trigger flooding. Suratman said the condition of Malang City with cold and humid temperatures makes the weathering of rock masses active so that when heavy rains cause flooding that brings materials such as mud and garbage.

"The fertile volcanic material is extraordinary. Economically, this is lucrative, but the risk of disaster is worrying," he said.

Suratman added that with the issue of climate change, Indonesia should be vigilant.

According to him, the issue of extreme rain and the influence of mountainous areas with high elevations and having rainfall of more than 3,000 millimeters per year should be a shared concern.

Indonesia, with its many volcanic mountains and the high process of land conversion, he said, needs to be a matter of concern.

"This is a warning, especially on the island of Java, you must be vigilant because many areas have similar conditions to Batu, so they are prone to flooding," said Suratman.