While the economy of Indonesia can be labelled “healthy” in 2018 as the country’s slow process of accelerating economic growth continued amid very challenging external conditions (albeit it needs waiting for the Q4 GDP growth data  to confirm this statement), not everything went rosy for Southeast Asia’s largest economy in 2018. In fact, for Indonesia, 2018 is characterized by a multitude of devastating and fatal disasters.

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About one month after the devastating earthquakes that hit the island of Lombok and killed nearly 500 people, disaster has now struck at coastal cities and villages in Central Sulawesi. On Friday 28 September 2018 a big 7.5-magnitude earthquake (followed by numerous aftershocks) triggered a massive tsunami that hit at least two cities: provincial capital Palu and Donggala.

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The 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Lombok - one of the more popular holiday islands in Indonesia - on Sunday 29 July 2018 and killed 17 people was apparently only a harbinger of things to come. Exactly one week later, on Sunday 5 August 2018, a more powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the same island. This time it killed at least 91 people and damaged thousands of buildings. The number of casualties is likely to rise further in the hours or days ahead.

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One of Indonesia's most famous volcanoes - the Merapi volcano that is located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta - erupted on Friday morning (11/05), spewing ash as high as 5,500 meters into the sky. The sudden eruption of Mount Merapi led to the temporary shutdown of Yogyakarta's Adisutjipto International Airport. Meanwhile, local residents who live within a five kilometer radius of the volcano are forced to evacuate.

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Parts of Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta as well as parts of several satellite cities around the capital are plagued by floods, resulting in thousands of evacuees. Anies Baswedan, Governor of Jakarta, said approximately 6,500 people have been displaced by floods in parts of South and East Jakarta, such as Rawajati and Kampung Melayu.

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In full-year 2017 Indonesia welcomed a total of 14.04 million foreign visitor arrivals, a new record high and up 21.9 percent year-on-year (y/y) from 11.52 million foreign visitor arrivals in the preceding year. However, Southeast Asia's largest economy failed to achieve its 2017 target of attracting 15 million foreign tourists. Main reason was heavy volcanic activity at Bali's Mount Agung.

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The capital city of Jakarta was rocked by a strong earthquake on Tuesday (23/01) around 13:45 pm local time with its epicenter in the Indian Ocean, about 125 kilometers to the southwest of Jakarta. The quake did not go unnoticed in Jakarta. Many office towers, residential towers and hospitals were evacuated due to concerns about aftershocks, while people fled into the streets in panic.

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Indonesian authorities decided to keep Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport closed until (at least) Wednesday morning (29/11) as volcanic ashes from Mount Agung jeopardize the safety of air traffic. Since Saturday Mount Agung has been erupting again, leading to the implementation of the highest alert code in the area. Meanwhile, Lombok International Airport, located on neighboring island Lombok, was reopened on Tuesday (28/11).

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The international airports on Bali and Lombok will be closed for at least 24 hours starting from 07:15 am local Bali time as Mount Agung blasts volcanic ash in the sky. One day earlier, Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) had raised the alert code to the highest level (red code) after Mount Agung erupted again on Saturday.

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Rising activity at the Mount Agung volcano on the eastern part of Bali has made local authorities decide to impose a 12-kilometer exclusion zone around the mountain's crater. Reportedly, nearly 35,000 people have been evacuated from this zone. Mount Agung has shown unusual activity for the past two weeks, triggered by a series of small earthquakes below the volcano.

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After the devastating 6.9 and 7.4-magnitude earthquakes in Lombok and Central Sulawesi in August and September, local people and businessmen have again been made aware of the risks involved when living, working and investing in Indonesia, a country that is located on the notorious Ring of Fire. This Ring of Fire is a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean, a center of seismic activity - triggered by tectonic movements - and thus prone to frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.

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While residents on the island of Lombok were still in the process of recovering from the deadly earthquakes in late July 2018, the area was again hit by a series of devastating earthquakes in August.

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In full-year 2017 a total of 2,341 natural disasters occurred in Indonesia according to the country's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (in Indonesian: Badan Koordinasi Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana, or BNPB). Natural disasters include landslides, floods, storms, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

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A year ago - between June and October 2015 - severe man-made forest fires on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan released some 11.3 million tons of carbon per day, caused Indonesia to experience damages estimated at 1.9 percent of GDP (World Bank estimate), and spread toxic haze to other parts of Southeast Asia. Not only its regional neighbors but most of the world directed its anger at Indonesian authorities that failed to combat the fires, and more importantly, failed to uphold laws that forbid the slash-and-burn practice.

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Australia's Bureau of Meteorology is increasingly convinced that the world needs to prepare for a new El Niño cycle. According to the institution, the impact of this new cycle will be felt starting from July 2014 and may continue through the winter. Also the European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) and the US Climate Prediction Center stated that chances of a new El Niño cycle in 2014 are becoming higher, although it is too early to provide an indication of this year's strength of the weather phenomenon.

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After the Mount Sinabung volcano (located in North Sumatra) has been erupting continously since September 2013 leading to 17 casualties and tens of thousands of evacuees, another Indonesian volcano - Mount Kelud (in East Java) - erupted around 22:50 West Indonesian Time on Thursday evening (13/02). Only hours prior to the eruption, the alert status of Mount Kelud was raised by the National Volcanology Agency. There have been six confirmed deaths. Volcanic ash and rocks have been thrown over a wide distance.

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Whenever the topic of tourism in Indonesia is touched upon, most people will instantly think of Bali. This small but famous island harbors all sorts of entertainment that will appeal to various segments of international tourism: beautiful landscapes, Balinese Hinduism, lively nightclubs, beaches and more. But apart from Bali - and despite the fact that Indonesia has much to offer on other islands - the country has disappointed in attracting a large amount of foreign tourists so far.

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