Day: July 10, 2022

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has threatened to revoke the permits of factories or companies that produce excessive pollution.

“We will revoke their environmental permits if the factories pollute the air in Jakarta,” Baswedan stated after attending the Eid al-Adha prayer at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS), North Jakarta, Sunday.

He continued that the industrial sector was one of the biggest polluters in Jakarta. Pollution from industrial estates near Jakarta also affected the air quality in the capital city.

“This illustrates that air conditions in an area cannot be separated from other areas because the air and the wind can move from one place to another,” he added.

Therefore, Baswedan added that the Jakarta administration is collaborating with other regional governments to handle excessive pollution from factories.

However, he refused to divulge which industrial estates often affect the capital’s air quality.

“We want everyone to take responsibility because the consequences of the unhealthy air are felt by all, including us in Jakarta,” he reminded.

The governor hopes that with a sense of responsibility for reducing air pollution in the surrounding area, there will be no recriminations between government services/agencies regarding the causes of poor air quality.

Previously, Jakarta’s air quality also occupied the first position in the world with an unhealthy air quality index reaching an index of 188 on June 15.

Deputy Governor of Jakarta Riza Patria at that time stated that the increasing number of vehicles was considered to have triggered the capital’s air quality to deteriorate.

“Indeed, Jakarta was quite congested. When the number of vehicles returned to normal, then there was an increase in pollution,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Environment Service (DLH) noted that on June 15, low air temperatures and high humidity levels created an accumulation of pollutants, thereby encouraging air pollution in the capital city.

“As a result, air pollutants accumulated in the troposphere,” Public Relations Officer from Jakarta DLH Yogi Ikhwan said.

Source: Antara News

Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas lauded the work of health officers who provided quick service and assistance to sick Indonesian Hajj pilgrims in Mina during the jumrah procession.

“Their work was extraordinarily helpful for our pilgrims,” Qoumas said in Mina, Sunday.

During his visit to the health service post in Mina, the Hajj Health Center told Qoumas that health workers were one of the keys to the success of Hajj services.

“They were very ready despite many rules that actually hindered the movement of health services, However, our health workers could handle the job. For example, ambulances were not allowed to enter, empty wheelchairs were not allowed to enter but our health workers managed to handle the job,” the Minister stated.

He said that Mina was one of the challenging locations since many pilgrims fell ill due to fatigue which triggered other diseases.

The Head of the Hajj Health Center, Budi Sylvana, said that the jumrah procession was a critical period for Hajj pilgrims since many of them were tired and needed help from health services.

The fatigue factor is believed to be the trigger for comorbidities in elderly pilgrims, especially those who have heart disease.

“From yesterday until today, six of our pilgrims have died due to exhaustion and dehydration, which caused more severe heart disease,” Sylvana noted.

The majority of sick pilgrims who received treatment at the Mina Health Post suffered fatigue and dehydration. Meanwhile, the number of pilgrims being treated is 62.

Previously, the death rate for Indonesian pilgrims was quite high. In the last 15 years, there was almost no significant decrease in the death rate of Indonesian pilgrims. With a quota of around 220 thousand pilgrims, about 300-400 pilgrims die per year, Sylvana informed.

Furthermore, the government targeted the 2022 Hajj pilgrim death rate to fall to one out of every 1,000 pilgrims.

Source: Antara News

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has urged policymakers, communities, and all components in Java’s southern coastal areas to mitigate the potential impact of earthquake and tsunami.

“We remind policymakers, communities and all components in each (of the southern coastal) areas to increase preparedness and vigilance to mitigate the potential impact of earthquake and tsunami,” the Acting Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, said in a press statement received here, Sunday.

BNPB hopes that the Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Resilient Village (Destana) set up in 2019 along the southern coast of Java Island can continue to become a pioneer of community resilience in handling disasters.

This idea follows a series of earthquakes that hit the southern part of Java Island, including an earthquake of magnitude 5.4 in East Java’s southern part on Saturday, July 9, at 03.17 local times.

According to the monitoring results of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the earthquake was centered 9.64 degrees southern latitudes and 112.91 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 10 kilometers.

“The Lumajang District Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported to the Center for Control and Operations (Pusdalops) of BNPB, that most of the people in Lumajang District suddenly woke up and fled their homes when the earthquake shook for 2-3 seconds,” Muhari informed.

Less than three hours after the magnitude 5.4 earthquake, BMKG issued another earthquake information at 05.50 local times. The second earthquake of magnitude 5.0 was centered 9.57 degrees southern latitude and 113.93 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 10 kilometers. No shock was felt by the community for the aftershock.

At 09.53 local times, the BMKG seismograph recorded another earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 located at 9.61 degrees southern latitude and 112.91 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 42 kilometers. According to the Lumajang District BPBD, the shocks of the third earthquake were felt for one to two seconds, but did not cause panic among residents.

The results of an interim analysis by BMKG showed that the series of earthquakes were shallow earthquakes due to plate subduction activity. The results of the analysis of the source mechanism showed that the earthquake has a thrust fault mechanism.

Based on BMKG records as of 11.00 local times, there have been 54 aftershocks with the largest magnitude, M 5.0. From the entire incident of the earthquake phenomenon, BMKG ensured that the earthquake did not have the potential for a tsunami.

“The results of monitoring in the field by the Lumajang District BPBD and Malang District BPBD stated that no damage was caused. There were also no reports of casualties,” he confirmed.

Based on the earthquake risk assessment index from InaRisk BNPB, the southern region of Java Island has a moderate to a high level of risk. The southern region of Java Island has also been known to be traversed by the Indo-Australian plate which stretches from the tip of the western part of Sumatra Island to the waters of Southeast Maluku, before finally meeting the Eurasian plate and the Pacific plate.

The earthquake phenomenon may cause several fatalities by the ruins of buildings during strong earthquake shocks. For this reason, strengthening the building structure, especially the pillars of the house and the roof structure, needs to be carried out in stages, both independently and supported by village funds.

Source: Antara News