18 still buried after South Sulawesi landslide

KOMPAS/RENY SRI AYU

Bulu\' Pattiroang Hill in Pattiro hamlet, Pallattikang village, Manuju district, Gowa regency, South Sulawesi, collapsed, burying the houses of local residents on Wednesday (23/01/2019). An estimated 18 villagers are believed to still be buried.

GOWA, KOMPAS – In the past 20 years, January and February have always been when most weather-related disasters occur. The central government has urged people in regions other than South Sulawesi to stay alert and prepared.

Floods and landslides recently forced thousands of people to leave their homes. As of Wednesday (23/1/2019) evening, 18 residents of Pattiro hamlet, Pattallikang village, Manuju district, Gowa regency, South Sulawesi, remain buried under piles of landslide debris. Furthermore, seven are missing and nine others were confirmed dead in other regions in South Sulawesi.

In Gowa regency, people were buried in a landslide during heavy rain on Tuesday. Data from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) indicate that the rain was extreme, with an intensity of more than 300 millimeters per day.

Hamlets were left isolated after bridges collapsed and landslides occurred on many roads, making evacuation difficult. Locals have been working together to carry out a manual evacuation.

At the site of the incident, community leaders said that 23 people were buried. Locals then recovered two bodies on Wednesday morning and a joint search and rescue (SAR) team recovered three more bodies on Wednesday afternoon. They were still searching for 18 persons.

“There was another death but it was not related to the landslide. The person had a heart attack after the landslide,” said local Daeng Tutu, 60.

On-site observations show that landslide debris buried more than a dozen homes and half of Pattiro hamlet. The debris came from Pattiroang Hill, located just behind the hamlet. The hill collapsed during the heavy rain, during which big rocks tumbled down toward the homes. The landslide revealed the hill’s inner layers, which comprised mostly rocks.

Locals said the landslide came without warning. Soil, rocks and trees suddenly collapsed on the hill, hitting houses in the hamlet. Before the landslide, heavy rain had been nonstop since Monday.

“At the time of the incident, there was a loud booming sound and the hill just collapsed and buried the houses. There was heavy rain and most people were in their homes,” said Sama Daeng Sila, 55. His home was carried away by the landslide.

Mansyur, 35, another resident, said that eight of her family members in three homes were buried in the landslide. “My relatives and I are still digging. It’s difficult as the landslide buried their entire homes,” he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, the joint SAR team and police and military personnel arrived to help with the evacuation process, which is still being carried out manually. Heavy equipment is urgently needed.

10 regencies, cities

Data from the South Sulawesi crisis center showed that 10 regencies and cities in the province were hit by floods, landslides and strong winds. Other than Gowa, the other regions are Jeneponto, Maros, Pangkajene and Islands (Pangkep), Barru, Wajo, Bantaeng, Soppeng, Sidenreng Rappang (Sidrap) and Makassar.

Some 5,825 people were affected. Seven went missing and another nine have died. This figure does not include those in Pattiro hamlet.

Furthermore, 2,204 houses and 15,221 hectares of rice fields were inundated, while 34 houses were carried away by the floods.

Gowa has the largest number of affected persons, namely 3,534 in 17 locations. Makassar, Jeneponto and Maros are other worst-hit regions.

In Makassar, around 1,000 people fled from their homes due to flooding between 30 centimeters and 2 meters high. Antang, Manggala and Paccerakkang are among the worst-flooded regions.

Rain intensity

Extreme rainfall at an intensity of more than 300 mm per day was recorded in nine cities and regencies in South Sulawesi.

Several rainfall measurement stations run by the BMKG and the Public Works and Housing Ministry recorded average rainfall of more than 100 mm per day on Tuesday. Lengkese in Takalar regency saw the highest rainfall at 329 mm per day. The Bawakaraeng post in Gowa saw rainfall of 308 mm per day, while the Pattene post in Marusu saw rainfall of 310 mm per day.

BMKG weather forecast subdivision head Agie Wandala Putra said that there were several factors behind the extreme rainfall in South Sulawesi. “The main cause is the Madden-Julian Oscillation [MJO] coupled with the Asian winter monsoon. There are also wind convergence areas,” he said.

In the next three days, extreme rain and strong wind may still occur in Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara and Papua. These regions may also face floods and landslides.

In Banjarnegara, Central Java, motorist Khonsum, 59, died after he was struck by a collapsed billboard, while M. Ashar Syafsudin, 42, died after a collapsed tamarind tree branch hit him.

“[On Tuesday], there was heavy rain and strong wind all day long. However, when the tree branch fell on Wednesday morning, it was sunny. Perhaps the tree was old and weathered,” said the Cilacap Disaster Mitigation Agency’s (BPBD) regional head Andi Susilo.

In East Java, heavy rain and strong wind since Tuesday uprooted dozens of trees in Batu municipality and Malang regency. Batu BPBD data show that trees fell in 34 locations. Three cars, one motorbike, as well as electricity and phone lines were affected.

There were no reported casualties but electricity was out in Batu. “The wind was exceptionally strong. I could only leave my parents’ home and return to my own home in Ngaglik, Batu, at 8 p.m.,” Sidomulyo resident Krispati, 30, said.

Disaster preparedness

People in several regions had prepared themselves for hydrometeorological disasters. Locals in Bandung regency, West Java, for instance, prepared for possible overflowing in the Citarum, Cisangkuy and CIkapundung rivers. Apart from cleaning waterways, locals also prepared boats and installed ropes in alleyways to facilitate evacuation.

Three districts in Bandung regency, namely Baleendah, Dayeuhkolot and Bojongsoang, are often hit by floods in the rainy season. The three regions are among the lowest parts of the Bandung Basin.

In Semarang, Central Java BPBD chair Sarwa Pramana said that the governor had ordered public works agencies and regency BPBDs with disaster-prone villages, districts, roads, residences and regions to submit reports as soon as possible.

On Tuesday evening, a 20-meter stretch of the Pekalongan-Banjarnegara road in Paninggaran district, Pekalongan, collapsed, creating a hole that was 50 to 70 cm deep. Consequently, road access was cut off. Repairs were still ongoing as of Wednesday afternoon. The local economy and transportation services were disrupted.

Kompas observed that collapsed road on the Sibelis block in Tenogo village was temporarily fixed with piles of rocks and sand. Motorists took turns to use the small stretch of road.

In the past 20 years, January and February have been the peak of hydrometeorological disasters in floods, twisters and landslides. BMKG climate and air quality information production subdivision head Siswanto said that the disaster intensity tended to increase despite reduced annual rainfall. (REN/WHO/DIT/WER/TAM/BAY/AIK/DKA)