Landslide damages roads and homes in West Java

Landslide damages roads and homes in West Java

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Kuningan, West Java

Three key roads connecting several hilly subdistricts in
Selajambe and Darma districts in Kuningan regency, West Java were
cut off on Monday due to landslides in the area. In addition to
the ruined roads, the landslide also damaged dozens of homes in
the area, but no fatalities were reported.

The landslide was caused by torrential rains that have pounded
the regency for the past three days, said the head of Selajambe
district, Dudi Fachrudin on Monday.

"The rain fell heavily in those areas, which eroded the land
structure above and below the mountain roads. It was aggravated
by the fact that the land structure in those areas was known to
be unstable," Dudi explained.

He said that the three roads in question were located in
Walahar Ciberung subdistrict in Selajambe district, Argasari and
Kutawaringin subdistricts in Darma district.

In Walahar Ciberung subdistrict, for example, a 45-meter
section of road collapsed, preventing residents in remote areas
from reaching the capital of Kuningan regency.

The rain stopped subsided in the three areas on Monday, but as
the season is not over yet, the local government has called on
people to prepare for more flooding and landslides.

"I have reported the landslide to Kuningan regent Aang Hamid
Suganda. Responding to the landslide, he asked local residents to
adopt precautionary measures, namely that they have to be ready
to be evacuated immediately, should rain fall in the areas," he
said.

Dudi said that the regent had also promised to deliver aid to
the residents who were victims of the landslide.

He said that the exact calculation on the losses due to the
incident had not been made yet, but roughly, he estimated that
the disaster had caused hundreds of millions of rupiah in
financial losses to people.

According to data from the Kuningan regency administration,
the worst natural disaster in the area happened in January last
year in Selajambe district, where 10 people were killed and
another one severely injured in landslide, which destroyed four
houses.