The evacuation of landslide victims in Pasir Panjang village, Salem district, Brebes, Central Java, was hindered by adverse weather conditions and difficult terrain.
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Kompas/Totok Wijayanto
The landslide overflowed a rice field in Pasirpanjang village, Salem, Brebes, Central Java, on Friday. Up until then, seven people were declared dead and 13 are still missing.
BREBES, KOMPAS – The evacuation of landslide victims in Pasir Panjang village, Salem district, Brebes, Central Java, was hindered by adverse weather conditions and difficult terrain. Landslides were also reported in Jingkang village, Purbalingga.
Several factors have been cited as possible causes of the landslide in Pasir Panjang village. These include high rainfall that led to water saturation, the area’s steep topography and poor disaster preparedness and environmental protection awareness among locals.
State forestry company Perum Perhutani operational director Hari Priyanto said it was still investigating the many factors behind the landslide.
“Rainfall, soil type and steep topography with a gradient of up to 70 degrees are believed to have caused the landslide. The soil type is latosol. During heavy rainfall it gets saturated with water. It gets heavy and becomes prone to landslides,” Hari added on Friday.
Brebes Regent Idza Priyanti said disaster preparedness among people living on the hillsides was still poor, adding that this was exacerbated by their poor environmental protection awareness. Both should be improved to prevent similar accidents from reoccurring, the regent added.
She said eight of the regency’s 17 districts were prone to landslides due to their location on hillsides and in mountainous regions. Among these districts are Sirampog, Paguyangan, Tonjong, Bantarkawung, Banjarharjo and Salem.
Seven died
As of Friday afternoon, landslides have claimed seven victims. Five were found dead on Thursday and on Friday, the body of Wartinah, 46, of Ciputih village, Salem, was found, while Carki, 53, of Pasir Panjang village died at the Majenang regional general hospital in Cilacap regency.
Thirteen people were still missing as of Friday afternoon. Originally, 16 people were reported missing. Two villagers, Daswa and Ajid, were found alive.
Salem district secretary Ujang Wahyu said apart from Pasir Panjang, a landslide also hit Capar village on Friday at 7 a.m. A house collapsed and about 300 locals were evacuated to Windusakti and Winduasri villages.
Brebes Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Eko Andalas said the evacuation was hindered by heavy rainfall that destabilized the soil. Brebes and surrounding areas were hit by heavy rains over the last two days.
“The joint team will continue its search efforts, especially in the first seven days,” Eko added.
At least 550 volunteers from various agencies and two tracking dogs from the Central Java Police are being deployed in the search and rescue effort. Volunteers have searched for landslide victims in four sectors across a 1.5-kilometer section of the landslide-hit region. The search started at 6 a.m. and was stopped at 3:20 p.m. due to heavy rain.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the landslide victims were mostly farmers working in the fields and motorists passing through the area.
“The search and rescue team is finding it difficult to go through the friable soil that buried parts of the river resulting in lots of mud. Weather conditions also hindered rescue efforts as the potential for more landslides remain high,” Sutopo added.
According to him, the limited number of heavy equipment – three -- also hindered rescue efforts. “That is not enough as the landslide-hit area is vast. We need more heavy equipment to help us in the rescue effort,” he said.
Kompas/Totok Wijayanto
The landslide overflowed a rice field in Pasirpanjang village, Salem, Brebes, Central Java, on Friday. Up until then, seven people were declared dead and 13 are still missing.
Landslide in Purbalingga
In Purbalingga regency, four children died after they were buried in a landslide that hit a house in Jingkang village, Karangjambu district, on Thursday at around 9 p.m. The four boys were identified as Muhammad Sifaul Umam, 8; Safngatul Isman, 4; Abdul Roup, 9, and Alkaromi, 7.
Jingkang village head Bambang Hermanto said the incident occurred when homeowner Solikhin was holding a Quran recital at his house to celebrate his son’s circumcision. Prior to the incident, heavy rainfall had fallen over the area and electricity had been cut off.
“At around 9 p.m., the cliff behind Solikhin’s house suddenly gave in and hit the house below,” Bambang said.
People, who had gathered inside the house, scrambled outside to save themselves. However, not all could get out in time, including Solikhin’s son, Sifaul Umam, and his friends who were in the bedroom at the time of the incident.
Purbalingga Regent Tasdi said Jingkang village was included in the regency’s landslide-prone red zone. In 2015, 38 families in the village were relocated due to the threat caused by soil movement.
“I have instructed the lease of one hectare of land. Apart from for Solikhin’s house, a gathering place for Jingkang residents during heavy rainfall will also be built,” he added.
Central Java acting governor Heru Sudjatmoko said the administration would hand out Rp 10 million (US$730) to the victims’ families. Those who sustained severe injuries will be given Rp 7.5 million and their medical costs covered by the government.
Meanwhile, a flood hit eight villages in Losari district, Brebes regency, after an embankment on the Cisanggarung River broke. Hundreds of houses were inundated and three people died after they were swept away by the current.
Brebes BPBD data showed that two of the victims were identified as Mutmainah, 40, and her son Saiful Hadi, 10. The other victim is still unidentified. All died after being reportedly swept away by the heavy current. The flood was between 1.5 and 2 meters in depth.
