Four killed as landslide buries house in Semarang

Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Semarang

At least four people from one family were killed on early Tuesday morning when a landslide buried and destroyed their house in the Central Java capital of Semarang.

Relatives of a 32-year-old pedicab driver, named only as Suyanto, who lives at Delikrejo village in Tembalang subdistrict, four kilometers east of the Central Java governor's office in Semarang, died in the landslide.

Suyanto was working outside his house at 2:30 a.m. when the tragedy occurred. However, his wife Sumiati, 30, and three relatives -- Suparti, 28, Siti Aminah, 23, and Suwarti, 8, -- died.

The last three victims were residents of Sendangharjo village in Karangrayung subdistrict in Grobogan regency, who were visiting Suyanto's house to commemorate the one year anniversary of his father's death.

The four bodies were unearthed by local villagers and police, who had launched a search at 7:30 a.m. The authorities are investigating the accident.

Witnesses said the landslide caused the four-meter-by-two- meter concrete terrace of the house belonging to Suyanto's closest neighbor Sukarman, 49, to slam into Suyanto's house, where the four were sleeping.

"I just realized that my house was affected by the landslide after hearing loud voices and cries for help outside. I then awoke and helped them," Sukarman said.

He said his hilly village many years ago was struck often by landslides. At least eight landslides have been recorded since 1985. However, no casualties had been reported.

"Therefore, residents anticipated such disasters by building concrete floors with their own money," Sukarman said.

Semarang Mayor Sukawi Sutarip told The Jakarta Post that his administration was seeking to relocate villagers from the landslide-prone area.

"The location is part of the green belt area which is not safe to live in. Apart from its bad position, the village has overhead, high tension electricity cables, endangering their (the resident's) lives," he said.

Sukawi said the local government had prepared land in the Gunung Pati area for at least 50 families, who were currently residing at the landslide-hit village.

The villagers were originally illegal migrants from other regencies, but since 1997 their presence has been recognized as local legal residents and most of them have obtained certificates for their land.

Tuesday's landslide was the latest to strike Semarang. On Feb. 16, at least seven people were killed and two were injured following a similar disaster in Lempongsari, Gajahmungkur subdistrict in Semarang.

The landslide, which took place 200 meters from the Central Java governor's office, had also swept seven houses some 30 meters downhill in the hilly residential area of Candi after a retaining wall broke.

Earlier last month, another landslide destroyed 34 homes in the Srondol section of the city.

Nationwide floods had killed more than 150 in Jakarta and Java provinces since late January.

Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructures Sunarno said last month that the devastating flooding across Indonesia had caused infrastructural damage worth Rp 1.8 trillion.

He said that in Jakarta alone, the floods since late January had caused Rp 700 billion worth of damage.

Sunarno added that these estimates were based on the funds required to repair or rebuild ruined infrastructure and did not include the value of individual property losses.

"In Jakarta alone, around 100,000 homes have been damaged," he added.