Cyclone Seroja kills 160 people, exposes Indonesia’s climate vulnerability

By Isabelle Gerretsen

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Campaigners warn Indonesia’s vulnerability to climate change is increasing and a government rollback of environmental regulations is worsening the situation.

Cyclone Seroja made landfall on 5 April, bringing torrential rain and triggering cold lava floods – flows of volcanic debris – in East Nusa Tenggara province, east Indonesia. 

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Seroja is the strongest tropical cyclone to have hit Indonesian land since 2008, according to the country’s meteorological and climate agency BMKG.

The tropical storm is the latest natural disaster to strike the country, which has been battered by a high number of floods and landslide events since the start of the year. 

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And these impacts, which directly threaten vulnerable communities, risk being worsened by a government roll back of environmental protection, campaigners say.

In November, the government passed a law on job creation that weakened environmental regulations in favour of business development.

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