Landslide kills two in East Kalimantan

Landslide kills two in East Kalimantan

Rusman, The Jakarta Post, Samarinda

A landslide after a heavy downpour, has left two people dead and
buried two houses in the hill region of Lingkas in Tarakan city,
East Kalimantan.

Dostian, a local resident, said that the landslide began after
rain pounded the city all Sunday night and into Monday morning.

He said on Tuesday that some residents were actually aware
that there were signs that a landslide was imminent following the
heavy rain. Some families, including Siantono and Astinah, were
attempting to evacuate from their houses due to fears of an
imminent landslide.

Astinah successfully evacuated her family, but that was not
the case for the Siantono family. Siantono, 41, had helped his
wife and one of his children get out, but when he was attempting
to get another son Upi, 5, suddenly the mud inundated his home,
burying Siantono and Upi alive.

Their bodies were later recovered from the debris.

Yusuf SK, the mayor of Tarakan, expressed condolences over the
deaths and said that he would give money to the ill-fated
families.

Siantono was a civil servant at the customs office within the
city administration.

Separately, East Kalimantan Governor Suwarna warned local
residents to be more vigilant about more possible landslides and
flooding in the near future after heavy rains continued to fall
throughout much of the province over the past few days.

It was a cruel beginning to the rainy season in the province,
following months of drought.

Earlier, the prolonged drought had contributed to the major
haze problem in the province, disrupting flights and causing
respiratory-related diseases for people living in the area.