Wahyoe Boediwardhana The Jakarta Post 2 Apr 17;
At least 27 people are feared to be buried after a 100-meter-high hill collapsed on Saturday morning during heavy rains in a hamlet in Ponorogo regency, East Java.
The Ponorogo Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported that the landslide, which took place at 8 a.m., buried 23 houses in the area and injured dozens of people.
The 27 missing people also include workers who were harvesting ginger on the slopes of the hill during the incident. The landslide buried the affected area up to five meters in depth.
“We had four excavators standing by in the area to support the evacuation,” BPBD official Setyo Budiono said on Saturday.
(Read also: Rapid mine expansion in East Java may risk environment)
Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa, meanwhile, asked the Ponorogo regional administration to immediately relocate locals in the affected area, saying that the location was a disaster-prone area that could not be used as residential site.
Khofifah said the landslide was caused by a lack of area for land cover and environmental degradation. She added that other causes of the landslide included the decrease in the number of water infiltration areas and the farming system, which did not operate in line with environmental conservation efforts.
“We need to raise citizens’ awareness about natural disasters,” she said as quoted by kompas.com. (rdi/hwa)
At least 27 people missing in landslides in E. Java
Antara 2 Apr 17;
Ponorogo (ANTARA News) - At least 27 people were still missing feared dead until Saturday afternoon in a landslide in the regency of Ponorogo, East Java.
The landslides, triggered by heavy rain, buried a number of houses in the villages of Banaran on Saturday morning (April 1st).
"There are still 27 people missing," head of the Ponorogo Disaster Control Agency (BPBD) Sumani said in the village of Banaran.
Sumani said there were 17 people injured and now being treated at a local health center.
The landslides hit when most of the people were harvesting ginger in the fields and other were still in their houses, Sumani said.
Rescue team could not remove the thick masses of earth and rock to make evacuation of victims, as heavy equipment was not yet available, he said.
A number of sets of heavy equipment were still on the way to the location, he said.
"Hopefully the equipment would arrive here tonight and we would be able to evacuate any bodies believed buried under the thick soil on Sunday morning," he said.
(Uu.H-ASG/H-YH)
Minister provides Rp1.34 billion to help landslide victims in Ponorogo
Antara 2 Apr 17;
Ponorogo, E Java (ANTARA News) - Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa has provided aid worth Rp1.34 billion to help victims of a landslide that hit Ponorogo District, East Java Province, on Saturday morning.
Minister Khofifah visited the victims and cecked a public kitchen set up to feed villagers displaced by the natural disaster, on Sunday morning.
According to data from an emergency command post, 28 people were missing and feared buried, three survived, and 32 homes were buried.
At least 17 people were injured and rushed to a local health center following the landslide.
Of Rp1.34 billion, Rp420 million would be used to compensate families who lost relatives due to the landslide. Meanwhile, each injured victim would receive Rp5 million.
Incessant downpour since Friday evening triggered the landslide which occurred in Banaran village, Pulung Sub-district, Ponorogo District, on Saturday at around 6 a.m. local time.
The landslide hit when most of the people were harvesting ginger in the fields and other were still in their houses.
Search and rescue efforts are going on to find more victims. (*)
Minister suggests relocation of Ponorogo landslide victims
Antara 2 Apr 17;
Ponorogo, E Java (ANTARA News) - Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa has suggested relocation of victims of a landslide that hit Ponorogo District, East Java Province, on Saturday morning.
"An option for most areas prone to landslides is relocation," Minister Khofifah said when visiting victims of the landslide in Wagir Kidul, Pulung Sub-district, here, Sunday.
To support the relocation plan, the district administration must allocate a plot of land, she said, adding that relevant ministries will build houses for the victims, and the Social Affairs Ministry will provide furniture and other equipment, as well as social allowances.
She said environmental degradation could trigger landslides, therefore, tree planting activities in arid areas should be intensified.
Incessant downpour since Friday evening triggered the landslide which occurred in Banaran village, Pulung Sub-district, Ponorogo District, on Saturday at around 6 a.m. local time.
The landslide hit when most of the people were harvesting ginger in the fields and other were still in their houses.
The landslide buried 32 homes and displaced over 200 villagers. Three survivors were found on Saturday.
Rescues resumed the search efforts on Sunday morning and found two bodies. The number of missing people is still 26.
The landslide injured 17 people, who are now being treated at a local health center.(*)
26 still unaccounted for after landslide in Ponorogo
Antara 1 Apr 17;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - One person has been found dead and 26 others still unaccounted for after a landslide hit Ponorogo, East Java, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said here on Saturday.
"It is believed that 26 people are still buried in the landslide," BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told newsmen.
He stated that a search-and-rescue team, consisting of military, police, disaster mitigation personnel, health service workers, volunteers, and community members were still struggling to find the victims.
The landslide in Tangkil hamlet in the village of Banaran, Pulung sub-district, occurred at 8am. A stretch of around 800-meter-long earth slid from a height of around 20 meters damaging 23 houses underneath where around 50 people lived.
Sutopo noted that some of the people were rescued, and 17 of them were now being treated in Pulung healthcare center.
Incessant rains have fallen in the area for the past few days, causing cracks on the hilly land. Upon seeing signs of danger, some villagers left at night but returned in the morning.
On Friday night, a heavy rain fell, but no landslide was reported that night, he remarked. (*)
