Bantul, Yogyakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Environment, Hanif Faisal Nurofiq, inspected the Wukirsari 2 Reservoir in Imogiri, Yogyakarta, one of the areas affected by flooding last March, to explore solutions for restoring its hydrological function.
Accompanied by Bantul District Head Abdul Halim Muslih on Sunday, Minister Nurofiq said that intense rainfall on March 28–29, 2025, in the Mount Gede watershed (DAS) had triggered floods in the Jakarta area, resulting in the deaths of more than 20 people.
"A similar incident occurred in Imogiri, Bantul, in which data shows that the rainfall reached 150 millimeters per second, which is an extremely high volume," the minister stated.
He mentioned that if the rainfall exceeds 100 mm per second, it is classified as high, as it represents 100 mm of water on every square meter of land, meaning that millions of mm of water flow into the river which can cause flooding.
"This leads to flooding disasters. We, along with our colleagues in the environment sector at the district and city levels, have analyzed the landscape, meanwhile, there have been significant changes in forest cover in this watershed area," he said.
Minister Nurofiq noted that the situation was exacerbated by mining activities on the hills, and from a technical standpoint, there was also notable sedimentation and runoff in the upstream areas.
"We want to work closely with the Yogyakarta Environmental Office to carry out monitoring. Previously, we focused on Jakarta due to the major disaster there, which claimed 20 lives and caused nearly Rp10 trillion in economic losses," he said.
He added that the government is preparing several solutions, including efforts to rehabilitate the ecosystem's hydrological functions based on the results of environmental monitoring.
