Tornado Strikes Bandung Barat and Cimahi

Residents in Bandung Barat Regency and Cimahi City were gripped by fear as a tornado swept through the area on Friday afternoon (6 March). Trees fell in the Cimareme industrial area, Kotabaru Parahyangan and in residential areas of Desa Cipeundeuy Padalarang. In Cimahi, the tornado struck Kelurahan Padasuka and the Cimahi City area, bringing trees down across roads and hampering people out for Ramadan. Crews were deployed to clear the fallen trees to prevent disruption to traffic. There were no fatalities, but several houses lost their roofs to the wind, and some motorcycles were knocked down by trees. A resident named Fajar said the tornado arrived suddenly around 15:30 WIB. ‘A tree hit the roof of the stall building near the Cimahi mayor’s office. The wind was very strong; there were even cars hit by trees,’ he said. The Deputy Mayor of Cimahi, Adhitia Yudisthira, has ordered crews to clear the fallen trees. Despite the incident lasting only a few minutes, he said the impact was quite severe because it hit stalls and other buildings. ‘The incident was brief, only a few minutes, but the impact was fairly serious,’ he said at the site. So far, there have been no reports of fatalities, and in addition to clearing trees at the scene, authorities are surveying the number of affected homes. ‘The same incident also occurred in Bandung Barat. Fortunately, no fatalities have been reported,’ he added.