The deforested hills in the Malino region, Gowa, South Sulawesi, Sunday (03/02/2019). Changes in the environment in the region, which used to be forested lands that functioned as water catchment areas, have now shifted their function as agricultural land and plantations. Houses and villas used to accommodate tourists.
After living in inherently dangerous conditions for years, their fears have increased of late. Daeng Toha, 75, and Daeng Mida, 70, said they saw the danger right in front of their eyes. With their children’s help, they plan to move to a safer place. They find it difficult to sleep soundly at night because of the cracks in the soil and the frequent landslides near their house.
Daeng Toha and Daeng Mida live in Lengkese hamlet of Manimbahoi village in Parigi district, Gowa regency, South Sulawesi. They have become increasingly anxious since the flood and landslide on Jan. 1, 2019. The high earth behind their house eroded, piece by piece; the section in front receded several centimeters. Their house now stands on increasingly loose soil at the edge of a cliff.
The Jan. 22 disaster reminded them of the horrific Friday on March 26, 2004. What started as a calm day for the villagers of Manimbahoi turned into chaos when the wall of Mt. Bawakaraeng’s caldera, near their village, collapsed.
Half of the village, including Lengkese and several other hamlets, was buried by 250-300 million cubic meters of collapsed earth. Thirty-two people died in the disaster and some were never found. The search for victims was stopped after the villagers had dug 300 meters into the debris and rubble. The landslide buried a school, dozens of homes, more than 600 cattle and 1,500 hectares of agricultural lands.
Among the victims were Daeng Toha and Daeng Mida’s daughter, Mariani Daeng Lu’mu, and her husband, Takbir Daeng Tutu. Their bodies were never found, and they were declared dead.
Confusion
The disaster left the couple afraid of another disaster. “My life is here. Looking at the current state, we are scared. This house looks like it will collapse, because of [damage] from the landslide,” said Daeng Mida, haltingly.
Manimbahoi is the last village upstream of the Jeneberang River. Once a peaceful village, it is now filled with dread. Some of the houses are damaged, as the earth continues to move.
Some of the tall cliffs around the village have are visible cracks. Some areas collapse at a single step. Precarious cliffs line both banks of Jeneberang River along the road from Manimbahoi village to Lake Tanralili, in the foothills of Mt. Bawakaraeng.
During the 2004 disaster, materials from the landslide flowed onto the Jeneberang and settled at the Bili-Bili Dam. Above the river, landslide materials created small hills and blocked the river to form Lake Tanralili. The shores of the lake have begun to collapse.
Riverbank
People living downstream and along the estuary of the Jeneberang River also fear the threat of another disaster. In Parang Tambung subdistrict of Tamalate district, Makassar city, for instance, four houses were swept away by the river on Jan. 22. The river overflowed and flooded homes to a depth of 1 meter.
Villagers like husband-and-wife Makka Daeng Naba, 60, and Hadijah Daeng Time, 57, live amid the sediment that has settled along the riverbank, as they have no other place to go. They share a cramped living space along with three of their children on the Jeneberang.
“This is part of the dam project. We have a permit to live here, but we will have to move if the government decides to [take over] the land,” said Daeng Naba.
Naba has lived in the same spot for dozens of years. But last Tuesday, he said that water overflowed the banks and flooded his house for the first time. Even during heavy rains before, the water only reached the embankment and never spilled into his house.
Andi Darmawan Bintang, the head of the South Sulawesi spatial planning and water resource management agency, said the government had made efforts to ban unlicensed structures and activities along the river. “We adjust the efforts to prevailing conditions. Parts of the river in urban areas have no embankments,” he said.
Relocation
General planning and program head Hasrawati Rahim of the Pompengan-Jeneberang River Management Center (BBWS) said the agency had warned the local villagers not to live along the river, which was prone to flooding. “We have warned them numerous times that it is dangerous to live there. This was the first flood. We have reprimanded them, but they persisted,” she said.
Despite the warnings, relocating the villagers is difficult, as many of them have land deeds. “They have a strong legal basis [to stay there]. Furthermore, large funds would be required to relocate them,” said Hasrawati.
Meanwhile, the regency administrations of South Sulawesi and Gowa are preparing plans to relocate residents living in locations prone to disasters, especially landslides, to prevent casualties. Many of the people have lived in these areas for many years, but it is not too late to save them. (BENEDIKTUS KRISNA YOGATAMA/DIMAS WARADITYA NUGRAHA/RENNY SRI AYU)
