A search and rescue team uses excavators to dig for the bodies of 25 victims buried in a landslide at Banaran village, Pulung district, Ponorogo regency, East Java, on Saturday (8/4). The search has been extended indefinitely as many victims had not been recovered during its first seven days.
“Monday should have been the day my son took a national exam to achieve his goal to become a gym teacher. I did not know if Dwi tried to take a photo of the landslide area on the hill," Sarkinem, 49, said with tears, on Monday at her house.
Dwi Yulianto, 17, a grade XII student at SMAN 1 senior high school in Berbek, Nganjuk, East Java, became one of the victims buried by the landslide in the village of Kepel, Ngetos district, Nganjuk, at noon on Sunday. The disaster area is about 25 kilometers from the Alun-alun (main square) of Nganjuk regency, which is 150 kilometers from Surabaya.
In addition to Dwi, four other victims had not been discovered until Monday evening. They were Mohammad Kodri, 15, Bambang Doni Ardiansyah, 23, and Ragin Bayu Permana, 14. All three were residents from Ngetos village, Ngetos district. Another victim was Paidi, 55, a resident of Blongko village, Ngetos district, who was working on the land around the disaster site.
Sarkinem did not expect that a device bought by his son four months ago would bring misfortune to him. Dwi’s hobby of taking pictures took him to the hazardous location. "On Sunday, Dwi did not say goodbye and did not say where he was going. Usually, he always says goodbye to his parents," Sarkinem added.
Dwi ‘s father, Sarmadi, 50, said his son often played on the cliff located about 1 km from his house to take pictures. In addition to playing soccer and futsal, Dwi loved taking pictures. "A week ago, I prohibited Dwi from playing around outside. I asked him to take a rest because he would take the national exam," Sarmad said.
The sadness was also felt by Yatemi, 45, the parent of Kodri. He did not know that his son went to the hill that afternoon. According to the plan, the student of SMK vocational high school in Baitul Atieq, Berbek, would go to the hill on Sunday afternoon to hunt for photos.
Two other victims were Doni and Bayu, who were brothers. Doni’s twin brother, Dani, was still shocked and did not want to meet journalists. According to Daman, 40, a neighbor of the victim, Doni rarely took pictures at that location.
Popular photo area
The head of the village Kepel Untung said that since two years ago, the landslide site in Dlopo was often packed with people. Each Sunday morning, no less than 50 residents traveled to the area for to take selfies. They were photographed with the background of a cliff, which was cracked due to landslides, without paying attention to safety. "I\'ve warned parents not to allow their children to go to the landslide site because it is very dangerous. However, the children reached the place on their own," he said.
Based on the estimates, the four teenage victims were buried in a nearby location. They were at the same area to capture images of the cracked cliff.
At the landslide site in the village of Banaran, Pulung district, Ponorogo, East Java, many people came to take pictures. During the landslide aftershock on Sunday afternoon, dozens of tourists visited areas A and D to look at the avalanche and capture the moment.
The field coordinator of the evacuation team from the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Asnawi Suroso, had asked repeatedly for the team to come out from the landslide site because there were potential landslides in the area. Sure enough, the landslide aftershock occurred on Sunday afternoon. Some tourists were lucky and followed the direction of the rescue team to save themselves from being buried.
Disasters are not supposed to be a tourist attraction. When a disaster ends it does not mean that it has been totally stopped because nature is unpredictable.
Generation after generation
Meanwhile, Samani, 50, said with a trembling voice that it was still hard to believe the landslides that occurred on Saturday morning claimed the lives of 28 residents and buried 32 houses in the Tangkil hamlet in Banaran village. "I’ve lived here for half a century. This is the first landslide in the area," he said.
Samani’s house is within 30 to 40 meters from an area of about 15 hectares, which was covered by the landslide in the Tangkil hamlet. His farming area is not far from the landslide area where he cultivates crops like ginger.
Steep hillsides that surround the village of Banaran have become sources of the lives of the villagers generation after generation. Until five years ago, residents still cultivated cash crops such as cloves, Albasia, Jabon and teak trees. However, two years ago, many clove trees died due to pests.
Residents were still pinning their hopes on Albasia, Jabon and teak trees. Apparently, once the trees were harvested, the prices did not match expectations. Residents felt they wasted their time, as the trees did not give them good returns.
When the price of ginger is good, it can reach Rp 20,000 per kilogram, while cassava can sell for Rp 1,000 per kg. These two types of plants can grow fast and can be harvested quickly. Residents planted ginger in order to get quick results. In fact, ecologically, horticulture is not suitable to be planted on steep slopes because their roots are weak and cannot prevent landslides.
Suyitno, 60, a resident of the Tangkil hamlet, pointed out that small-scale cracks and landslides had occurred in the last few years. Last month before the landslide, a crack occurred in a cliff and it was widening. A week before the disaster, people living below the slopes were told by village officials to evacuate at night.
However, in the morning they returned to take care of their houses, farms and their cattle. Sarnu, the head of Banaran village, felt that the residents were not worried about the landslide because it had never happened in the area.
The misfortune was really unexpected and occurred at unexpected times. Citizens are now reeling. It is time for the people and government to understand and alert. Nature, which provides livelihood, can also take their lives, if it is not preserved and taken care.
