Potential Lava Flood Sleman BPBD Asks Merapi Slope Sand Miners To Obey Early Warning

Mount Merapi/Photo: Antara

SLEMAN - The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Sleman Regency has asked sand miners in the river upstream of Mount Merapi to comply with any early warnings related to weather developments that occur during the transitional season have the potential for rain and lava floods.

"Currently, there is still a lot of material in the area above Mount Merapi, and if there is heavy rain at the peak, there is the potential for rain flooding in the rivers upstream of Merapi", said Head of BPBD Sleman Regency, Makwan, in Sleman, Tuesday, April 5.

According to him, the rain lava flood or cold lava flood which carried away the volcanic material of Mount Merapi was actually relatively safe if people did not move in the river flow.

"The condition of the embankments and flood control dams in rivers upstream of Merapi is currently still able to accommodate material carried by the flood", he said, quoted by Antara.

He said that there were several occurrences of lava floods that hit and piled up vehicles transporting materials and mining equipment due to delays in anticipation.

"Sometimes the miners and their fleet are delayed in boarding, heavy equipment and miners are still in the river, so when they try to climb up they are hit by a flood of lava and rain", he said.

Makwan said that early warnings are often ignored by people who are active in the rivers upstream of Merapi. "That is often the reason for being 'responsive' and continuing material mining activities. In fact, there has been an early warning and the speed of flooding is also unpredictable", he said.

He said that so far it has also been difficult for his party to collect and provide education to the miners of this Merapi material because many of them come from outside the Sleman area.

"We are familiar with the residents on the slopes of Mount Merapi, and it is easy to socialize", he said.

Previously, the Meteorology Station, Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Yogyakarta stated that currently the entire DIY region, including the Sleman Regency area, is in the transitional season (transitional season) which is expected to take place between March and May 2022.

"We need to be aware that this season there is an increase in the potential for hydrometeorological disasters", said Warjono, head of the Yogyakarta BMKG Meteorological Station.

According to him, hydrometeorological disasters can be in the form of extreme weather, such as hail, strong winds, hurricanes, and heavy rains that appear during the transitional or transitional season, where the potential is greater than the rainy season.

"The Sleman Regency area is an area that is hit by extreme weather. The location of Sleman Regency which is on the slopes of Mount Merapi makes it an area that supports the growth and development of convective clouds such as Cumulonimbus", he said.