Flood from Amurang Beach Destroyed Bridge and Houses
Figure 1: Situation After Flood Disaster Source: (Dandy Bayu, 2022)
15 June 2022 in Amurang, Minahasa Selatan, Sulawesi Utara, 15 houses, road, and a bridge have been swept away by a wide flood which had to make 269 people evacuate. The flood affected area is on the edge of the cliff which is directly adjacent to the beach.
The cause of this flood is still vague. People assumed that abrasion was the cause since it came from the beach. Quoted from Berita Manado, Professor of Soil and Water Conservation at Sam Ratulangi University Manado, Prof Dr Zetly E Tamod SP MSi, stated that the abrasion process occurs slowly and takes time, while the flood happened in a snap of time.
Abrasion is a process of coastal erosion caused by ocean waves and ocean currents or tidal currents that are destructive. In a few years, the abrasion will slowly erode the land boundary and slowly enter the land area which can cause flooding. But remember the keyword, slowly. The flood isn't gonna come overnight. There is another reason why abrasion was not causing the flood. If it was due to abrasion, the impact of the landslide area will be bigger along the coastline, not only limited to one area.
Figure 2: Mangroves Source: (Mediacenter.serdangbedagaikab.go.id, 2022)
Although there is no way to stop the abrasion process, there are some things that can be done to slow down the abrasion process. Planting mangrove trees and coral reefs around the coast is an effective way. Fortunately, now there are people who are aware of the impact of abrasion and are making projects to plant mangroves and coral reefs.
Dr Zetly also stated that another possible cause is an; earthquake. The earthquake here is only considered as a small possibility because at that time there was no earthquake shock detected. (Semen, 2022). Cited from OkeZone, The Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) has stated, the disaster that occurred at Amurang Beach was not due to extreme weather, extreme climate, or seismic activity. But, due to other factors. "further research would be done regarding the collapsed bridge and houses in the Amurang Beach area with the help of various experts and related ministries or institutions." Guswanto added. (Mufarida, 2022) The other most likely cause is collapse because there has been a void under the bridge foundation.
To this day, the exact cause has not been found because the government is now focusing on evacuating victims. sad how many sites and people immediately conclude if the source is from abrasion for only one reason, comes from the sea. This lack of knowledge of basic science can lead to misunderstanding and the spread of wrong news.
By: Angela Dellyza
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