NATURE is striking back. No longer capable of stopping the rain water from flowing down the denuded forests, it is releasing a force that is wreaking havoc in many parts of the country in floods and landslides that brought deaths and destruction not only to traditionally flood-prone provinces. but also to hitherto flood-free areas.

For the first time in living memory, the island of Nias off the western coast of Sumatra, this year saw massive flo