Central Java landslide victims unaware of the danger<\/p>\n
Tarko Sudiarno and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Kebumen<\/p>\n
Rofika, 15, one of the Kebumen, Central Java landslide
\nsurvivors, said it was very dark when suddenly a very powerful
\nforce pushed against her two-story home.<\/p>\n
\"I was sleeping on the upper floor of my house that night.
\nSuddenly I was thrown out of the window and seconds later I
\ndidn't know what really happened,\" the junior high school student
\nsaid at the local Muhammadiyah Hospital.<\/p>\n
She was rescued about 90 minutes after her house had
\ncollapsed. Neighbors who rescued her said she was buried with her
\nhead facing downward.<\/p>\n
She has sustained serious head wounds.<\/p>\n
The other two survivors are Mas Soleh, 60 and Sayuti, 65.<\/p>\n
According to Rafika, she remembered clearly meeting with an
\nold women in her dreams. \"I had just closed my eyes when she came
\nto me. She told me to leave the house quickly or I could be
\nkilled. I then woke up. It was only seconds later that the
\ndisaster occurred,\" she recalled.<\/p>\n
While Rafika and the two other survivors are in the hospital,
\nthe villager rescuers found it difficult to unearth two more
\nbodies believed to have been buried in the area.<\/p>\n
Only after they had used a hoe, were the bodies of a brother
\nand sister, Widiatmoko, 6, and Wini Widianti, 14, recovered.<\/p>\n
With the discovery of Widiatmoko's and Wini's bodies, all nine
\npeople buried by the mud and debris have been unearthed.<\/p>\n
Wini and Widiatmoko were the children of Kasidun, who was
\nfound dead in the debris on Friday. Kasidun's wife was also
\nkilled in the tragedy.<\/p>\n
The landslide, which also buried four houses in Penusupan
\nvillage in the district of Sruweng, Kebumen regency, occurred on
\nThursday night after hours of torrential rain.<\/p>\n
Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure Sunarno,
\naccompanied by Central Java Governor Mardiyanto and Kebumen
\nRegent Rustriningsih visited the accident site on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Rustriningsih gave Rp 1 million to the relatives of the
\nvictims, while Mardiyanto provided the landslide-hit families Rp
\n10 million in cash.<\/p>\n
\"We are going to carry out a feasibility study for the
\nrelocation of people living in areas prone to landslides in
\nBanyumas,\" regent Rustriningsih said, adding that relocation
\nwould be the best way to protect the people from the danger of
\nlandslides in the future.<\/p>\n
Sunarno said that his ministry was ready to help relocate the
\npeople.<\/p>\n
Many have expressed disappointment that the local
\nadministration had failed to take preventive measures, as the
\narea in the southern part of Central Java is vulnerable to
\nlandslides and flooding.<\/p>\n
In October last year 36 people were buried with their houses
\nin the regency of Brebes and six others were killed in a
\nlandslide in Banyumas.<\/p>\n
In the regency of Purworejo, 15 people were killed in a
\nlandslide in Majenang, Cilacap, also in October last year.<\/p>\n
The latest tragedy may reflect the local administration's
\nignorance, as the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) had
\njust issued warnings to government officials and the public about
\nthe possibility of floods and landslides that might hit several
\nareas in the archipelago during the upcoming rainy season.<\/p>\n
Observers were worried that a worse disaster could happen due
\nto the fact that illegal logging has been rampant in the area.<\/p>\n
The warning signals that landslides might occur had actually
\nappeared hours before, local residents said.<\/p>\n
\"In the evening a heap of soil behind the mosques fell down.
\nWe villagers cleaned it up. None of us was aware of the possible
\ndangers,\" said Tarmo, a local.<\/p>\n
\"Not long before the disaster I heard a terrible sound like a
\nbig tree being uprooted up there. But as the electricity had
\ntotally been cut off that night I did nothing until I was more
\naware of what was happening.\"<\/p>\n
The most sickening thing was probably the fact that the local
\nadministration had planned to inform the Penusupan villagers
\nabout the possible landslide.<\/p>\n
\"We had wanted to meet with the villagers on Friday, but the
\nlandslide occurred one day before,\" Heri Prasetya, the regency
\nspokesman said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/central-java-landslide-victims-unaware-of-the-danger-1447893297",
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