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.