Governor Pramono attributes Bantargebang landfill landslide to extreme rainfall

Jakarta — Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung Wibowo stated that the waste landslide incident at Bantargebang Integrated Waste Processing Facility (TPST) in Ciketing Udik Village, Bantargebang District, Bekasi City, West Java, was caused by extreme rainfall.

“Yesterday’s rainfall was 264 millimetres per day. That is among the highest rainfall recorded in Jakarta,” Pramono said at Jakarta City Hall on Monday.

He explained that the landslide occurred in zone 4A at 14:30 Western Indonesian Standard Time. With such heavy rainfall, water entered the waste mounds at Bantargebang. Consequently, the slippery conditions of the waste caused the landslide in the area.

The incident resulted in an operational road and Ciketing River being blocked by waste across approximately 40 metres, Pramono added.

After inspecting conditions at Bantargebang that morning, Pramono immediately requested that the situation be normalised quickly.

In response to the incident, Jakarta’s Environmental Services Agency (DLH) activated emergency response operations beginning Sunday (8 March) to ensure worker safety.

DLH Jakarta also undertook victim assistance and stabilised the area to enable waste management services to be restored promptly.

Pramono outlined that handling was carried out by an inter-agency team involving the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Metro Jaya Police, the Indonesian military (TNI), Jakarta and Bekasi Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), and the Fire Department (Damkar).

Additionally, local authorities deployed 19 heavy excavators and seven ambulance units during evacuation operations.