Police stopped an ambulance on Tuesday for allegedly transporting local tourists through heavy Eid al-Fitr traffic in Sukabumi Regency Second Inspector Ayet Permana said the vehicle was using its siren and flashing lights to bypass long lines of vehicles caught in holiday congestion officers found several passengers inside the ambulance -- but no patient The vehicle was registered under the local government of Kompa Village in Sukabumi “The driver claimed the passengers were headed to visit a relative receiving treatment at Sekarwangi Hospital,” Ayet told reporters officers suspected the group was actually traveling to Pelabuhanratu Beach and ordered the vehicle to return to Bogor “Ambulances are strictly for emergency use We reprimanded the driver and directed him to turn back,” Ayet added the driver -- who did not reveal his name -- said the passengers were women planning to visit a relative at Sukabumi prison series of hydrometeorological hazards have struck the West Java regencies of Sukabumi and Cianjur over the last few days as the country enters a wetter rainy season triggered by the La Niña weather phenomenon over the Pacific Ocean The Sukabumi administration declared a state of emergency on Wednesday evening following flooding and landslides due to heavy rainfall in various areas across the regency “The emergency status will be in effect for the next seven days starting today,” Sukabumi secretary Ade Suryaman told a press briefing on Dec He said the heavy rains that hit the regency on Tuesday and Wednesday had caused at least 33 severe weather events in 22 districts across the regency with landslides and floods leading at 13 and nine recorded occurrences Pelabuhanratu and Simpenan were the hardest-hit districts where landslides and flash floods affected dozens of homes and more than 240 people According to data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) as of Wednesday evening at least one person was killed while 90 people fled their homes to safer areas the series of disasters damaged at least 40 houses and six public facilities Delivered straight to your inbox three times weekly this curated briefing provides a concise overview of the day's most important issues covering a wide range of topics from politics to culture and society Please check your email for your newsletter subscription Landslides and floods also cut off roads to several affected districts and disrupted telecommunications hindering authorities from reaching some regions Quickly share this news with your network—keep everyone informed with just a single click Customize your reading experience by adjusting the text size to small or large—find what’s most comfortable for you by Jonathan Thatcher | 31 Mar 2023 | Climate decoders, Writing's on the Wall A woman leads her goats as Suralaya coal power plant looms in the background in Cilegon a large column of smoke rises against a backdrop of tree-covered mountains as it has done 24 hours a day for the best part of a decade the flames that produce that endless plume at the coal-fired power plant in the small fishing port of Pelabuhan Ratu in western Indonesia will finally be extinguished And the convoy of coal barges that cross the bay to feed it will stop coming At least that’s the theory under a hugely ambitious internationally-funded project signed late last year and worth $20 billion to wean Indonesia off coal-fired power A state-controlled coal miner is taking over the Pelabuhan Ratu plant The purpose of the project is simple enough Indonesia has been desperate to provide more power to help lift up the economy of the world’s fourth largest population It also has enormous reserves of thermal coal — coal used to generate electricity That has made it pretty obvious how to provide all that new energy It now has almost 100 coal-fired power plants Those plants have also helped make Indonesia one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas in the world (ranked eighth globally) Its archipelago of thousands of islands strung along the equator in southeast Asia hold one of the world’s biggest tropical forests that are home to more varieties of insects animals and plants that exist almost nowhere else The backers of the fund to de-coal include countries which themselves are major polluters and incompetent bureaucracy and flagrant large-scale deforestation inevitably raise red flags over how likely Indonesia is to honour its side of the deal to shift away from coal and into renewable sources of energy including a seemingly limitless potential for geothermal power The government insists it is serious and is committed to reaching net-zero emissions in less than 40 years time President Jokowi Widodo launched construction of a $2.6 billion hydropower plant in North Kalimantan He said he hoped Indonesia really would transform into a green economy Indonesia will have to make significant changes to encourage the use of renewable energy an energy policy associate with the International Institute for Sustainable Development She noted that by the end of 2021 renewable energy accounted for only 11.5% of the country’s energy mix “Without serious reforms to remove structural barriers to renewable energy deployment the deal will not succeed and without a method for balancing the social and economic benefits of projects the transition may not be as ‘just’ as intended,” Suharsono wrote there are signs that changing attitudes in commercial finance may also help the drive for change The Financial Times reported in February that one major Indonesian mining company was struggling to raise funds to build a new aluminium smelting plant because international banks were now reluctant to be seen financing the use of fossil fuels And while the current Indonesian president is pushing for change It is far from clear if his successor next year will bring a similar commitment given the influence of the wealthy coal lobby residents in the fishing port of Pelabuhan Ratu continue to complain about the impact of their local power plant which is in the centre of a UNESCO-designated geopark a geopark is home to sites of international geological significance “managed with a holistic conception of protection Locals say pollution from the plant and coal falling from barges into the sea has severely cut into fish stocks “They sometimes have to bring fish in from other places to sell in the fish market,” one local official said Jonathan Thatcher is former Reuters bureau chief for Indonesia and East Timor and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" What We Do Who We Are News Decoder Updates Contact Us © News Decoder 2025. All rights reserved. | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Editorial Policy News Decoder is the educational services unit of Nouvelles-Découvertes Webmaster Joy Matéo – Digit’all Communication Scientific and Cultural Organization announced on its website on Sunday (15/04) that it has accepted Mount Rinjani in Lombok The network was established in 1998 to promote geodiversity through community-led initiatives to enhance regional sustainable development global geoparks also help monitor and promote awareness of climate change and natural disasters The two Indonesian sites, along with 11 others situated in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, China, Spain, Canada, Belgium, France and Tanzania, are included in the agency's 2018 list of global geoparks "Uneso's executive board today gave the Unesco Global Geopark label to 13 sites demonstrating the diversity of the planet's geology," the agency said The announcement sees Mount Rinjani and Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu Geopark joining a list of nearly 130 geoparks in 35 countries Indonesia's Mount Batur in northeastern Bali and Mount Sewu Geopark in East Java were designated as Unesco Global Geoparks in 2015 "I have just received news that Mount Rinjani has been selected as a Unesco Global Geopark during a Unesco executive board meeting," Mount Rinjani Geopark general manager Chairul Mahsul said on Saturday The selection of Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu Geopark was confirmed by West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan who said the process usually takes around 10 years after a park is submitted for Unesco's consideration the central government declared Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu a national geopark We submitted it to Unesco for confirmation as a global geopark right after that and now it has been accepted," Ahmad was quoted as saying on Monday The archipelago is littered with volcanoes that form part of the Pacific Ring of Fire – a string of seismically active regions around the edges of the Pacific Ocean one of the so-called Seven Summits – the highest mountains of each of the seven continents Mount Rinjani and Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu Geopark will be officially certified as global geoparks in a ceremony scheduled for September Mount Rinjani and Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu Geopark Mount Rinjani has a rich and diverse landscape ranging from savannah and semi-deciduous forests to lower montane evergreen forests and tropical montane evergreen forests it is Indonesia's second-highest volcano and it has a 50-square-kilometer caldera The 41,000-hectare geopark is surrounded by 66,000 hectares of protected forest, according to the park's official website. The site was proposed as a global geopark in 2008. The 126,100-hectare Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu Geopark meanwhile, is spread over eight subdistricts and 74 villages. The site is believed to contain the first land that formed on the western part of Java Island. It has the oldest rock formation, known as the Ciletuh Formation, which according the geopark's official website, is very distinctive, unique and rare in terms of fossil tectonics. The oldest rocks in the Ciletuh Formation are believed to have formed 134 million years ago, with unique shapes that resemble various animals, such as rhinos, turtles, frogs, dragons and bulls. Besides the rock formation, the geopark also has several waterfalls, a turtle conservation area, caves and a Sundanese cultural center. HomeDestinations Interests Top Places to Travel by MonthSearchMenuBest time to visit Java Great surfing spots include Pelabuhan Ratu Bay with such famous spots as Pelabuhan Ratu Bay The best chance to see those great rolling waves is during the dry season from March to November There is a long central beach where both surfing and swimming are available but also there are many smaller bays and inlets to look for waves Pelabuhan Ratu Bay coastline offers 60 km for beach adventures with some pretty big waves all around the bay suitable for all surfing levels There are waves here that are some of the best in Indonesia A moderate magnitude 3.8 earthquake hit 30 km (19 mi) away from Pelabuhanratu, Jawa Barat, Indonesia The quake had a moderate depth of 95 km (59 mi) and was not felt (or at least not reported so) A strong magnitude 4.9 earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean near the coast of Jawa Barat, Indonesia The quake had a shallow depth of 50 km (31 mi) and was felt by many near the epicenter The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would A strong magnitude 4.9 earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean 79 km (49 mi) from Indonesia around noon of Sunday The depth of the quake could not be determined but is assumed to be shallow.The quake was reported felt by some people near the epicenter A moderate magnitude 3.9 earthquake hit 22 km (14 mi) away from Pelabuhanratu, Jawa Barat, Indonesia 2025 at 10.48 am local time (Asia/Jakarta GMT +7) but is assumed to be shallow.The quake was reported felt by some people near the epicenter.