At least 17 dead, thousands displaced after severe Indonesia floods
Jakarta, Apr 28: At least 17 people are dead and nine missing after days of heavy rain-triggered floods and landslides on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, authorities said Sunday.
Some 12,000 people have been evacuated while hundreds of buildings, bridges and roads have been damaged by the severe weather which affected nine districts or towns across Bengkulu province, officials said.
The waters have receded in some places but officials warned the full extent of the damage was not yet known and some areas were still cut off.
"The impact of this disaster may increase," national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said, adding that several people were also injured in the flooding.
"Landslides and floods could happen again if rainfall is high," he said.
A "secondary disaster" in the form of skin diseases and acute respiratory infection due to poor hygiene and a lack of clean water was possible, he added.
Aerial images showed swollen rivers that burst their banks and inundated settlements in some parts of the province.
Public kitchens and evacuation shelters have been set up to cater to about 13,000 people affected by the flooding, while search and rescue teams try to reach hard-hit areas with rubber boats.
"The distribution of aid has been hampered because road access has been cut off by the floods and landslides," Nugroho said, adding excavators were being used to clear debris from roads.
Landslides and floods are common in Indonesia, especially during the monsoon season between October and April, when rains lash the vast Southeast Asian archipelago.
Flooding in parts of the Indonesian capital Jakarta during the week killed at least two people and forced more than 2,000 to evacuate their homes.
Residents of Bogor, a satellite city of Jakarta, had to contend with about 14 pythons that were set loose from a private property due to the high waters.
Six of the snakes which were as long as four metres (13 feet) have been found, but the remaining eight remain on the loose, officials said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
