Four schools and dozens of houses affected by strong winds in Jember

Jember, East Java — The Jember Regency Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) reported yesterday that four schools were damaged, a tobacco warehouse collapsed, dozens of trees fell, and up to dozens of houses were damaged due to strong winds across Jember Regency, East Java, on Friday afternoon to evening (6 March).

“Strong winds struck several areas in the southern part of Jember, namely Wuluhan, Kencong and Gumukmas,” said Edy Budi Susilo, head of the Jember BPBD, in the regency on Saturday.

He noted that rain accompanied by strong winds occurred in several areas of Jember Regency, causing several trees to fall toward village roads and onto residents’ houses, then toppling tobacco warehouses, damaging residents’ kitchens, and damaging roofs of houses and schools.

“Strong winds hit two villages in the Wuluhan District, Kesilir and Tanjungrejo, causing 50 trees to fall, the roofs of four schools to be damaged, 17 houses to suffer minor to moderate damage, and 15 tobacco warehouses to collapse,” he stated.

He added that the educational facilities affected by the strong winds were SDN Kesilir 01, SDN Tanjungrejo 04, SDN Tanjungrejo 05, and SDN Tanjungrejo 06, and that residents whose houses were struck by trees partly evacuated to relatives’ homes.

“The tobacco warehouse collapsed onto the house of a resident named Supri (45), causing moderate damage, so those affected have evacuated to relatives’ homes,” he said.

The strong winds also hit Paseban Village in the Kencong District, causing one tree to fall and strike the roof of a house, injuring one person who was hit by falling tiles.

“In Karangrejo Village, Gumukmas District, strong winds also struck, causing the kitchen and a resident’s yard to collapse,” he added.

Edy explained that the Rapid Response Team (TRC) had already attended to the fallen trees along the village roads and all access is now back to normal, while the handling of the fallen tree that hit a house is 80 percent complete.

“Today a community clean-up is being carried out to address the tobacco warehouse that hit a house, while the affected residents remain evacuated to relatives’ homes,” he said.

He urged the public to be vigilant and cautious of extreme weather and to watch for trees that are prone to falling in Jember.