REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DELFT - Indonesia experienced 60 floods in the last ten years. The fact made Indonesia as a country which most frequently hit by the disaster in Southeast Asia.

Nurhamidah, a lecturer of Civil Engineering at Andalas University argued that low-lying areas was heavily affected by the rising tide, an increase in the volume of river water and coastal erosion. "Deforestation and landslide  also caused flooding in the delta area," she said in a public lecture held by Indonesian Students Association in Delft, Netherland on Saturday.

Nurhamidah added that flood occured in almost all regions in Indonesia. High intensity of rainfall reached 3,000 mm per year and natural factors can also trigger flood, such as the composition of peatlands in coastal areas.

Peatlands are very soft because it is composed of organic materials and make it easy to slide. Indonesia's peatlands and forest spread from north to southeast of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua, especially on the south coast.