Project News

(Photo: the Sabo dam constructed at Kalekube River (the back is Mt.Awu))

On November 1st, we conducted Sabo investigation at Sangihe islands in Sangihe District, North Sulawesi Province. Sangihe Island locates at the middle between Sulawesi Island and Mindanao Island, Philippines and at 220 km north of Manado, the province capital. The island population is about 120,000. The dimension is about 700 Km2 (as large as Amami Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture). At the north of the Island, an active volcano, Mt.Awu (1,320 m) locates and cases disasters many times with pyroclastic flow and mudflow by eruptions. There are records: the dead were 3,000 in 1711, 2,806 in 1856, and 1,532 in 1892.　Recently, 39 people were killed by eruptions of 1966. At the eruption of 2004, 20,000 of residents evacuated.

The area where we conducted the Sabo investigation is at Kalekube River. There, construction of Sabo facilities has been implemented by Sulawesi I River Basin Office of Ministry of Public Works since 2007. So far 4 units of Sabo dam were constructed. With these facilities, main roads which connect Tahuna, District Capital and airport, or houses around the river are protected.

Mr. Hendrik, Chief of River Works in Sulawesi I River Basin Office, who is in charge of Sabo works, has had Sabo training at Sabo Technical Centre in Ministry of Public Works, Jogjakarta. These engineers were sent to all over Indonesia,　and Sabo takes root firmly to the society.