730 Natural disasters hit Indonesia this year

Some 730 natural disasters have hit Indonesia so far this year, according to Chairman of National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. "The number has decreased compared with the 1,663 natural disasters that hit us last year and the 1,287 disasters we had in 2009. Floods, droughts and tornados accounted for a majority of the natural disasters that struck Indonesia in 2012," ANTARA quoted Sutopo as saying. Sutopo stated that natural disasters claimed a total of 487 lives this year, while 675,798 people were forced to leave their homes and some 7,891 houses were heavily damaged, adding that a majority of those disasters occurred during the period from January to April