NGANJUK, KOMPAS — Floods and landslides keep threatening several regions. Aside from being triggered by heavy rain, the unstable soil also triggered the disaster. Such conditions halted the search and rescue of the victims buried under the landslides. Residents in the disaster-prone locations are told to be cautious or relocate to safer places.
Until yesterday, the search of five victims buried in the landslide in Dlopo hamlet, Kepel village, Ngetos district, Nganjuk regency, East Java, on Sunday was unsuccessful. One obstacle was the soft soil that made it difficult for the heavy equipment to reach the disaster-hit area. The search effort had to use a manual method.
The landslide blocked the river stream, spanning 200 meters in length, 12 m in width and with a depth of 50 m. The water streamed through the pile of soil. Mt Wilis, which was hit by landslide, used to have rice, clove, mango and durian planted on its slope.
The landslide also created five piles of soil with a height of around 20 m. Five people were predicted to be buried under the landslide.
Four victims, Mohammad Kodri, 15, Dwi Yulianto, 17, Bambang Doni Ardiansyah, 23, and his brother Bayu Ragil Permana, 14, were buried while taking selfies. They lived around 1 kilometer from the location in another village, Ngetos village. Meanwhile, another victim Paidi, 55, was a resident of Blongko village and was buried while he was collecting grass.
According to Sarinah, 40, the wife of Paidi, the landslide was silent so her husband was not aware. When the land moved down the hill, Sarinah shouted and warned her husband to run, but the landslide was faster than Paidi. “My son in law, Joko, was safe because he ran faster,” she said.
Nganjuk Landslide Emergency commander Lt. Col. Sri Rusyono said the evacuation process on the first day was unsuccessful. Although the location had been known, the evacuation was difficult. Heavy equipment was unable to reach the location because the road was only 1 m wide. “So far, the evacuation was made manually by digging,” he said.
The joint SAR team also made a trail around the piles of soil to anticipate flash floods. The trail was made to provide an escape to the SAR team if the dam collapsed. The access to the location was through the cultivated land belonging to the residents. “The soil on the slope of Mt Wilis is soft and unstable so there is the potential of subsequent landslides,” said the chief of Nganjuk 0810 Military Command.
Nganjuk regent Taufiqurrahman deployed five excavators. Those excavators would enter the location through the right side of the slope that had collapsed. They would create a new path.
Nganjuk Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency acting chairman Sukonjono said before the landslide, in 2015 there was a 50-m long crack in the soil with a width of 50 centimeters. The crack widened to 100 cm on Feb. 28 and 150 cm on March 3. “After the heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday, the crack widened and led to the landslides,” Sukonjono said.
In order to anticipate flash floods and further landslides, 119 families in Selopuro and Kedung Jero were evacuated. They lived on the right side of the landslide within the dangerous zone.
South Sulawesi
Residents in three districts in Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi, were also told to be cautious over disaster-prone areas in that region. Last week, a landslide blocked access to some villages. Even though the situation was improving, some cracks occurred and the soil had eroded.
Luwu Disaster Mitigation Agency head M Jihad said his office had issued a warning. “There are some spots with potential for landslides and cracks,” he said. The three districts with the potential for landslides are Larongkong, in Luaring village and West Suli district, consisting of two villages Kaladi and Darussalam. Another district is West Bajo, particularly the Saroda village.
This site was in the Latimojong mountains. Last week’s landslide occurred in some areas and closed access to some villages. There were 32 landslide sites in Larongkong district, seven sites in West Bajo district and two sites in West Suli district.
The landslide area was a residential area bordering a river and cliff. On the cliff there were cracks that kept widening. On the landslide-hit area, the overflowing river eroded the road.
Luwu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ahmad Yanuari Insan also called on residents to be on alert. “We will deploy personnel to certain locations to help monitor the situation anytime there is heavy rain and to help warn the motorists to be careful,” he added.
Six students swept away
In Magetan, six students enrolled at junior high school Madrasah Tsanawiyah in Kerik village, Takeran district, were swept away by the river while attending an outdoor activity at Grape Forest Park in Madiun on Monday. Only three students had been found, dead.
They were Ahsan Nurfuad, 14, and Hasmi, 14; the third victim’s identity is unknown.
Madiun Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. I Made Agus Prasatya said the Madrasah Tsanawiyah Bani Alimursad delegates from Magetan regency consisted of 183 students. After the activity concluded, 10 students took a bath in the river not far from the forest park. It was raining heavily and the river stream was powerful. Six students were swept away. Four were safe.