Jakarta, Dec 13 (Antara) - A major landslide buried more than 100
villagers in Jumbleng hamlet, Sampang village, Banjarnegara district,
Central Java, at 5.30 p. m. on Friday.
Until Sunday evening, 17 victims were found dead, while 91 others are still missing.
According to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the National
Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), rescue workers also found 11 victims
who were seriously injured and four more inflicted with less severe
injuries.
He added that efforts to find and evacuate victims of the disaster were halted on Saturday afternoon due to heavy rain.
The
ground was unstable, the current of the river that passed through the
village was very strong and carried mud, and the heavy rainfall was
causing fear of another possible landslide, Nugroho stated.
"Several
roads were blocked by the landslide, and several sections cracked,
which were too dangerous to pass through. These posed difficulties as
heavy duty equipment could not be deployed there to help in the rescue
and evacuation efforts," he remarked.
Furthermore, the Chief of BNPB Syamsul Maarif was on the location, helping direct emergency response efforts.
Legislator Amelia Anggraini of Commission IX of the House of
Representatives (DPR) urged authorities concerned to increase the number
of rescue workers and members of the evacuation teams deployed.
"Rescue workers have worked maximally but more teams are needed in the
field to safeguard and find buried victims," Anggraini said in
Banjarnegara on Saturday.
Personnel
from the BNPB, military, police, health services, Search and Rescue
Service (Basarnas), and the ministries of social affairs and public
works have been on the site to help deal with the disaster that happened
at around 5.30 p. m. on Friday, triggered by heavy rain.
The Ministry of Social Affairs is also coordinating with the BNPB over the landslide disaster.
"We
have been in touch with the BNPB and the director general for social
protection of the Ministry of Social Affairs since early Saturday to
monitor the situation after the landslide in Banjarnegara," Social
Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said.
Parawansa added that her ministry will ensure that the logistics needs of the victims of the landslide are met.
"The Ministry of Social Affairs has deployed a disaster alert team
(tagana) and set up a public kitchen there," she affirmed here on
Saturday, adding that the ministry's team had acted rapidly to send a
number of assistance packages for the victims of the disaster.
The
tagana workers are focused on providing assistance during the victims'
evacuation. They are also assigned to establish a control and command
post (poskodal) and provide public kitchens.
Currently,
trucks carrying logistics assistance are en route to the location, or
warehouse, in Banjarnegara district. They are transporting 500 packages
of food, 327 family kit packages, 250 packages of kitchen requirements,
and 300 blankets.
"The assistance packages are worth Rp235.45 million in total," Parawansa pointed out.
Also,
some 3,000 packages of food stuff, 1,500 packages of children's food,
60,000 packs of instant noodles, and 501 blankets were also sent to
Central Java.
She further noted that public kitchens were prepared, for which 50 tons
of rice was needed. While the district head has the right to provide
it, the governor can release 200 tons more if it does not suffice.
Moreover, the Ministry of Social Affairs has sent a team to observe the
post-disaster situation in Banjarnegara district, Central Java.
According to the Governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo, they had
enough food stock to meet the needs of the evacuees of the landslide in
Jemlung hamlet, Sampang village.
"For the time being, food stock is enough. But we have taken
precautionary measures, at least with regard to food supply for the
evacuees," the governor stated here on Saturday.
Pranowo, who was accompanied by Banjarnegara District Head Sutedjo
Slamet Utomo, noted that a medical team was also deployed to a number of
locations.
He expressed hope that the regional government of Banjarnegara district
would first be able to carry out early mitigation efforts, after which
the provincial government would provide support.
The governor also added that based on information provided by the
Sampang village head, some 100 villagers were buried under the
landslide. "A total of 17 bodies have been found," he affirmed.
If the Sampang village head is able to provide the names of those still
missing, it would be very helpful for the rescue workers, the governor
remarked.
He further noted that the army had expressed its readiness to deploy
its combat engineer personnel so that the post-landslide situation is
dealt with soon.
Earlier, the search and rescue team had only discovered 12 bodies of
victims. "More bodies are believed to be buried, but have yet to be
found," Chief of Banjarnegara police resort Adjunct Senior Commissioner
Wika Hardianto remarked.
Referring
to a car buried under the landslide, he revealed he received
information that there were five people in the vehicle. While two of
them had been rescued, the three others had yet to be found.
Hardianto
added that the earth from the landslide that blocked the road could not
be moved away for fear that it could trigger more landslides. "The
ground is still unstable and keeps moving," he warned.
Dozens of houses of 53 families in Jemblung hamlet in the village of
Sampang were buried following a landslide that happened at around 5.30
p. m. on Friday.
Villagers living around the scene described the incident, stating that it happened very fast.
"It
occurred at around 5.30 p. m. It was cloudy, but suddenly a roaring
sound was heard, which got louder and louder," one of the villagers,
Johan, said here on Saturday.
Giving a play-by-play of the disaster, he stated that he then heard a
loud bang that made him to rush over to the village of Karangkobar where
he heard the noise from. There, he saw that the hamlet of Jemblung
located below Karangkobar was buried under a landslide.
"There are around 40 houses buried," Johan affirmed.
***3***
(T.A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 13-12-2014 22:56 |
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