Storm kills one, destroys 200 houses in Central Java

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Banyumas

Heavy rains and strong winds killed one person, injured five others and destroyed at least 200 houses in Banyumas and Purbalingga regencies, Central Java, on Sunday.

The strong winds felled coconut trees in the area, blocking roads and making it difficult for the rescue team from the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the local administrations to reach the affected areas.

"The winds also cut the electric cables so that the rescue team took longer to evacuate all the victims as they had to work at a slower pace because many parts of the area was engulfed in darkness," PMI spokesman Subiantoro told the press on Monday.

In Banyumas, the worst-affected area is Bantar village in Jatilawang subdistrict. The strong winds damaged about 100 houses in the village, 11 houses were completely leveled to the ground. Most of the damaged houses, which are mostly made of wood, had their roofs blown off by the strong winds.

Disah, 80, a resident of the village, was killed instantly when struck by a supporting beam from the roof, while her husband, Madsalim, 82, sustained a serious injury also caused by the beam.

According to a public health center in the village, it also treated four other residents for mild injuries.

"The winds was very strong and produced a horrifying sound. Many houses' roofs were blown away while trees fell down. We're really worried. We thought it was the end of the world," Sumarno, 45, a local resident said.

He said that many families had moved to their relatives' houses temporarily, while those whose houses were slightly damaged were trying to repair them.

In Purbalingga, more than 100 houses were damaged by the strong winds. Most of them had their roofs and their supporting beams blown away by the strong winds. Also a lot of coconut trees fell across the streets.

Slamet Arianto, an official of Purbalingga Regional Logistics Agency (Dolog), said that the strong winds had also blown the roofs off its warehouse in the city.

"Yes, about 200 tons of our rice stock was soaked by rain. It maybe very difficult to save it. But it won't affect our total stock as we have still 12,500 tons of rice stock," he said.

To help the victims, PMI and the local administrations have set up public kitchens in the affected areas.

So far PMI had provided 15 boxes of instant noodles and 200 kg of rice, while the Banyumas administration provided seven boxes of instant noodles, 200 kg of rice and Rp 500,000 in cash for buying food.

Central Java Governor H. Mardiyanto said on Sunday night that he was very concerned with the natural disaster. He had donated some Rp 25 million and two tons of rice for the victims in the two regencies.