Padang landslide kills eleven<\/p>\n
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post\/Padang<\/p>\n
A landslide triggered by torrential rain buried eight homes in
\nPadang, West Sumatra on Friday, killing 11 people and leaving at
\nleast 14 others missing. Seven other people were injured and
\nadmitted to nearby hospitals for treatment.<\/p>\n
As of Friday midday, with the help of an excavator, workers
\nfrom the public works department were still digging and moving
\ntons of soil and debris from the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The storm began on Thursday afternoon as Padang was pounded by
\nheavy rain. The rain lasted into Friday morning and likely eroded
\nsoil in the Gaung Hill area, which precipitated the landslide.<\/p>\n
Some residents made it out, others did not. Yusniar, 45, who
\nsurvived the landslide, recalled how she suddenly woke up when
\nshe heard a thunderous sound outside her house. She quickly
\nalerted her husband and two children and they scrambled out of
\ntheir home and ran to safety. Their swift response proved vital,
\nas a few seconds later, their house was quickly swallowed up by
\nrocks and mud. However, other neighbors were not as fortunate as
\nthey did not get out fast enough.<\/p>\n
The 11 fatalities were identified as Rifal, 5, Darni, 60,
\nEdismet, 45, Imelda, 36, Dedi, 12, Ani, 20, Mak Sani, 65, Nanda
\n19, Yus, 33, Ira, 25 and Tika, 3.<\/p>\n
There is actually a history of landslide problems in the area.
\nSyamsul, a local resident, explained that a similar disaster
\nhappened 10 years ago, albeit on a much smaller scale. That one
\ntook out a house and killed six people inside.<\/p>\n
The heavy rain since Thursday has also caused flooding in many
\nother parts of the city, inundating thousands of buildings. The
\nflooding has greatly disrupted traffic in this provincial capital
\nwith many roads becoming impassable.<\/p>\n
Stunned by the deadly landslide, Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar
\ncalled on people living near the hill to be on alert for further
\nsoil erosion.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, as bad weather returned on Friday afternoon, a
\nsearch and rescue team called off the search. "The search and
\nrescue attempt has been suspended due to heavy rain. We are
\nafraid that if we insist on continuing the search and rescue
\neffort, the rescuers will be at risk of being buried by another
\nlandslide," said Capt. Saragara, a local military commander in
\ncharge of the search and rescue effort, as quoted by Antara. The
\nArmy and government agencies have established several command
\nposts in order to help provide food and shelter for the victims
\nof the landslide.<\/p>\n
Separately, West Sumatra Deputy Governor Marlis Rahman urged
\nresidents in the area to relocate to other places due to fears
\nanother landslide. During his visit to the area, Marlis also
\nhanded over Rp 5 million (approximately US$500) to the
\nneighborhood in addition to a ton of rice.<\/p>\n
The landslide in Padang was the second worst such disaster in
\nthe country this year. It follows the landslide, or garbage
\nslide, near the Leuwigajah dump near Bandung in February when a
\nmammoth pile of garbage swallowed nearly 70 houses, leaving at
\nleast 143 people dead. Deforestation and poor dump management
\nhave been blamed as the cause of the rampant landslide in the
\ncountry.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/padang-landslide-kills-eleven-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}