Rare tornadoes ripped through Sulawesi and Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
A powerful tornado has ripped through the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi and Sumatra, killing five people and damaging properties. Rare tornadoes hit Wette’e village, Sidenreng Rappang (Sidrap) regency in South Sulawesi and West Pakpak regency in North Sumatra on Friday, February 24th.
The tornado was raging about 15 minutes and damaged 59 residents’ houses in Sidrap, razing 47 to the ground, forcing 215 people to evacuate.
Around 40 houses in the subdistricts of Salak and Simpakrobe in West Pakpak were destroyed according to JakartaPost. National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Saturday in a press statement that four people died in Sidrap while another victim died in West Pakpak.
Indonesia have wet tropical climate in which strong tornadoes are unusual, but not unknown and rarely they are deadly. The past month has seen multiple twisters strike the island nation. However, powerful thunderstorms, which are the parent storms for twisters, happen in Indonesia at some of the highest rates on earth.
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As climate continues to change it will less unusual to see weather events that were rare in some areas become more common place. In addition these weather events are becoming more intense and are causing more casualties and property damage. Coupled with rising sea levels and protracted drought large displacements of populations can be expected.