The landslide that ensued after the heavy rain served as a warning for the umpteenth time that landslides lurk for anyone living in.
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BOGOR, KOMPAS —The landslide that ensued after the heavy rain on Sunday night (4/2) served as a warning for the umpteenth time that landslides lurk for anyone living in, visiting or passing by the Puncak area in Bogor, West Java. However, until the fatal disaster struck, neither the government nor the residents took any concrete action to launch the revitalization of Puncak.
Dang Aripin, 51, a resident who rents sales space to traders in Cisarua, Puncak, said on Tuesday that he had not thought about anticipatory measures for potential landslides after the disaster on Monday (5/2). The previous day, a kiosk he rented in Puncak near Atta’awun Mosque was hit by a landslide. The kiosk’s tenant Lilis, 45, was killed. “I am not worried, I am fine,” Aripin said.
Erik, 22, another resident who has been a trader in the area since he was 10 years old, shared a similar view. Erik said the even though he was worried, he accepted the condition of the area, which was prone to recurring landslides nearly every year.
People who frequently conduct activities in Puncak have gotten used to landslides coming down the slopes. Nevertheless, Monday’s landslide was the most severe, as it caused fatalities. Yesterday, a landslide also occurred in Puncak near Widuri. The land collapsed from a height of 6 meters.
Afterward, another landslide occurred in Pinus, Gunung Mas. The hills there are steep. Trees grow on the steep cliffs. People place bags of dirt along the street because the potential for landslides pose a danger to motorists.
A landslide in Riung Gunung was larger than the others. The volume of the landslide was bigger. There, a Search and Rescue (SAR) team, with the help of sniffer dogs, searched for people who had been buried in the landslide. A sniffer dog has detected a location, but the team had not found any bodies by late afternoon.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the SAR team found a body buried in Cijeruk, Bogor regency.
“The number of dead victims from the landslide in Bogor was five,” he said.
The latest victim to be found was Alan Maulana Yusuf, 17. Earlier, at around 10:30 a.m. yesterday, the team found three bodies in the landslide in Cijeruk: namely Nani, 34, Aurel, 1.5, and Aldi, 9. One victim who has yet to be found is Adit, 11. Meanwhile on Monday, the SAR team found a body near the Atta’awun Mosque in Puncak.
Aside from the dead victim yet to be found in Cijeruk, the team is still searching for three others in the vicinity of Riung Gunung, Cisarua, Puncak. In total, four people are still missing.
Many triggers
Imam Santosa, from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s volcanology and geological hazards center, said the Puncak landslide had occurred as a result of several conditions, such as the erosion of volcanic layers in the earth, the steep cliff of more than 45 degrees and heavy rains.
Imam said some tea plantation areas were prone to landslides because the roots of the tea plants did not reach deep into the ground.
Moreover, the Bogor Institute of Agriculture’s spatial development planning center head, Ernan Rustiadi, said the environmental degradation was caused by a rapid decline in water catchment areas and green space in 1990-2012 that continued until today. Statistically, the average rainfall over this period did not change significantly.
Given such conditions, it was believed that Monday’s landslide in Puncak was not the last.
Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, who visited several areas hit by landslides on Tuesday, said the spatial planning authority for Puncak was in the hands of the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry.
“Arguing will do nothing. It needs strict policy, otherwise there will be more construction projects [in Puncak],” Basuki said.