John Q's Geology 9 Blog

Disaster Risks in Indonesia The Republic of Indonesia is among the nations with the highest disaster risk in the world and ranks second behind Bangladesh on a global scale. This risk is driven by the country's high exposure to a range of geophysical and hydro-meteorological hazards.  Disasters caused by environmental hazards are becoming increasingly costly and severe in Indonesia.  The country's vulnerability to disasters is attributed to its unique geographic characteristics as an archipelago of about 17,500 islands with over 81,000 km of coastline that stretches along the equator.  The country's islands are home to an extremely varied geography, topography, and climate. Figure 1:  Proportion of disasters in Indonesia (1998-2018). Source Disaster database & information BNPB Drought In Indonesia The pie chart above represents the proportion of disasters that have hit Indonesia in the past two decades.  Though flooding remains to be the number one weather r...

  Mass Wasting and Landslides in Indonesia A landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. Landslides are a type of "mass wasting," which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity. The term "landslide" encompasses five modes of slope movement: falls, topples, slides, spreads, and flows. These are further subdivided by the type of geologic material (bedrock, debris, or earth). Debris flows (commonly referred to as mudflows or mudslides) and rock falls are examples of common landslide types. Almost every landslide has multiple causes. Slope movement occurs when forces acting down-slope (mainly due to gravity) exceed the strength of the earth materials that compose the slope. Causes include factors that increase the effects of down-slope forces and factors that contribute to low or reduced strength. Landslides can be initiated in slopes already on the verge of movement by ra...