Padang landslide kills eleven
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post/Padang
A landslide triggered by torrential rain buried eight homes in Padang, West Sumatra on Friday, killing 11 people and leaving at least 14 others missing. Seven other people were injured and admitted to nearby hospitals for treatment.
As of Friday midday, with the help of an excavator, workers from the public works department were still digging and moving tons of soil and debris from the neighborhood.
The storm began on Thursday afternoon as Padang was pounded by heavy rain. The rain lasted into Friday morning and likely eroded soil in the Gaung Hill area, which precipitated the landslide.
Some residents made it out, others did not. Yusniar, 45, who survived the landslide, recalled how she suddenly woke up when she heard a thunderous sound outside her house. She quickly alerted her husband and two children and they scrambled out of their home and ran to safety. Their swift response proved vital, as a few seconds later, their house was quickly swallowed up by rocks and mud. However, other neighbors were not as fortunate as they did not get out fast enough.
The 11 fatalities were identified as Rifal, 5, Darni, 60, Edismet, 45, Imelda, 36, Dedi, 12, Ani, 20, Mak Sani, 65, Nanda 19, Yus, 33, Ira, 25 and Tika, 3.
There is actually a history of landslide problems in the area. Syamsul, a local resident, explained that a similar disaster happened 10 years ago, albeit on a much smaller scale. That one took out a house and killed six people inside.
The heavy rain since Thursday has also caused flooding in many other parts of the city, inundating thousands of buildings. The flooding has greatly disrupted traffic in this provincial capital with many roads becoming impassable.
Stunned by the deadly landslide, Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar called on people living near the hill to be on alert for further soil erosion.
Meanwhile, as bad weather returned on Friday afternoon, a search and rescue team called off the search. "The search and rescue attempt has been suspended due to heavy rain. We are afraid that if we insist on continuing the search and rescue effort, the rescuers will be at risk of being buried by another landslide," said Capt. Saragara, a local military commander in charge of the search and rescue effort, as quoted by Antara. The Army and government agencies have established several command posts in order to help provide food and shelter for the victims of the landslide.
Separately, West Sumatra Deputy Governor Marlis Rahman urged residents in the area to relocate to other places due to fears another landslide. During his visit to the area, Marlis also handed over Rp 5 million (approximately US$500) to the neighborhood in addition to a ton of rice.
The landslide in Padang was the second worst such disaster in the country this year. It follows the landslide, or garbage slide, near the Leuwigajah dump near Bandung in February when a mammoth pile of garbage swallowed nearly 70 houses, leaving at least 143 people dead. Deforestation and poor dump management have been blamed as the cause of the rampant landslide in the country.