http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/10/2010102843636591256.html
Lately, extreme weather hits us in most unexpected times. Often it gets so hot during the morning and day, then suddenly replaced by heavy torrential rain. Flooding already spread in some parts of Jakarta. This week, the rain has taken its toll, a university student stumbled over a sewer hole, got carried away by the current as the flood swarming around. She was found dead the following day. Hundreds were forced to leave their home as water kept raising higher and higher. Flooding caused not only financial and lives lost but also heavy traffic jam. Last Monday, some of my colleagues spent almost 7 to 8 hours on their way home from work. They got home by midnight or more. I was lucky i got home at 8.30 p.m as i took train.
Also this week, on Tuesday the most active volcano in my country had began erupting, spewing volcanic ash and rock and hot clouds to villages nearby killing at least more than 40 people. Hundreds of thousands are being evacuated as experts and officials say it might be the beginning only. The worst is yet to come coz the merapi mount has built up more materials in its dome. Some predict the eruption might be much worse than its last eruption in 2006. My grandma and some of my big fam from my mother's side reside in village near that area. They told me they were pretty far away from the lava path, suffering only by the volcanic ash.
A day before the eruption, an earthquake of 7.2 in magnitude hit our western region, igniting a 3 metres tsunami that smashed our remote Mentawai island. The tsunami smashed over villages in the island, flattening houses. More than a hundred people died, while 400 or more are stil missing. Relief workers are hampered by the bad weather as the only way to reach the tsunami hit area is by half day ride on boat from Padang port in Sumatera island. Help and evacuation is on slow progress coz the remoteness of the island. Experts say the region has potential to have another massive earthquake as we sit right on top of the so called ring of fire. Last 2004, an eartquake of 9.2 in magnitude had ignited the worst tsunami flatenning the tip of Sumatera island, the Aceh province. It killed more than 2 hundreds thousand people.
Lately, extreme weather hits us in most unexpected times. Often it gets so hot during the morning and day, then suddenly replaced by heavy torrential rain. Flooding already spread in some parts of Jakarta. This week, the rain has taken its toll, a university student stumbled over a sewer hole, got carried away by the current as the flood swarming around. She was found dead the following day. Hundreds were forced to leave their home as water kept raising higher and higher. Flooding caused not only financial and lives lost but also heavy traffic jam. Last Monday, some of my colleagues spent almost 7 to 8 hours on their way home from work. They got home by midnight or more. I was lucky i got home at 8.30 p.m as i took train.
Also this week, on Tuesday the most active volcano in my country had began erupting, spewing volcanic ash and rock and hot clouds to villages nearby killing at least more than 40 people. Hundreds of thousands are being evacuated as experts and officials say it might be the beginning only. The worst is yet to come coz the merapi mount has built up more materials in its dome. Some predict the eruption might be much worse than its last eruption in 2006. My grandma and some of my big fam from my mother's side reside in village near that area. They told me they were pretty far away from the lava path, suffering only by the volcanic ash.
A day before the eruption, an earthquake of 7.2 in magnitude hit our western region, igniting a 3 metres tsunami that smashed our remote Mentawai island. The tsunami smashed over villages in the island, flattening houses. More than a hundred people died, while 400 or more are stil missing. Relief workers are hampered by the bad weather as the only way to reach the tsunami hit area is by half day ride on boat from Padang port in Sumatera island. Help and evacuation is on slow progress coz the remoteness of the island. Experts say the region has potential to have another massive earthquake as we sit right on top of the so called ring of fire. Last 2004, an eartquake of 9.2 in magnitude had ignited the worst tsunami flatenning the tip of Sumatera island, the Aceh province. It killed more than 2 hundreds thousand people.
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