Torrential rain has caused landslides in parts of West and North Sumatra, cutting off access and disrupting economic activity.
© NASA/JAXA GPM72-hr rainfall accumulation as observed by GPM Core Observatory.
A 150-meter stretch of the highway connecting West Sumatra and Riau in Jorong Sopang, Pangkalan Koto Baru, Limapuluh Kota regency,
was engulfed by up to a meter of floodwater on Sunday at 5 a.m. local time. Limapuluh Kota Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Nasriyanto said the flooding was triggered by the overflowing Batang Manggilang River.
"Only large trucks were able to pass, resulting in other vehicles from Pekanbaru and Payakumbuh backing up 2 kilometers for eight hours," Nasriyanto told The
Jakarta Post on Sunday.
He said the heavy rain that had drenched the region in the past three days had triggered floods and landslides in a number of locations in the regency. At least 500 homes were engulfed by over 50 centimeters of floodwater and eight homes were reportedly damaged by a landslide on Sunday morning."We, together with residents, are currently moving residents and livestock to safer areas. Reports are coming in, but no casualties have been reported so far," said Nasriyanto. Floods have taken place in Taram and Sarilamak villages in Harau district, Payakumbuh, Guguk, Lareh Sago Halaban and Kapur Sembilan districts.
Two homes were destroyed in Kapur Sembilan district and six in Taneh Bukit, but no casualties were reported. Ten homes were isolated by floods in Sago Halaban. "We have further heightened vigilance because the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency [BMKG] predicts high rainfall on Sunday and Monday. We urge residents living in dangerous areas to increase awareness, and if need be evacuate," said Nasriyanto.
A landslide also took place in Agam regency on Sunday morning. The road in Matur district was buried by landslides in two places. The landslides also carried rocks. The provincial public works agency deployed heavy machinery to clear the affected areas.
Comment: US Geological Survey statistics show that 40% of all major earthquakes located in the lower 48 states have occurred in Oklahoma this year. Cushing in Oklahoma is home to the largest commercial crude oil storage center in North America, and is dotted with hundreds of airplane hangar-sized tanks that hold an estimated 54 million barrels of oil. These tanks were built to national standards that account for some shaking, but they weren't constructed with serious earthquakes in mind, which is causing concern to Homeland Security according to Daniel McNamara, a USGS research geophysicist.
See also: A disaster waiting to happen in Oklahoma? The link between fracking and earthquakes is causing alarm in a town where oil storage is 'booming'
Seismic activity in the Oklahoma area over the past couple of months include: