TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The recent extreme weather has forced the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park Board (TNGGP) to close the hiking trails of the mountain in Cianjur, West Java, until an indefinite time.

The TNGGP Cianjur spokesperson Poppy Oktadiani said the closure started to take effect today, Dec. 9. “This is an effort to anticipate unwanted events from happening among hikers due to the extreme weather since the last few days,” she added.

According to Poppy, high intensity of rain and strong winds potentially bring down trees of various sizes along the climbing path, endangering the safety of climbers. The mountain, she added, has many old trees that could fall at any time.

Poppy said her side could not yet confirm how long the closure would be. However, the national park board would coordinate with related parties to ensure safe weather before reopening the track.

“When the extreme weather is over, and the condition is safe, the hiking trails will be reopened as usual. For now, we are still coordinating with BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency) and other related parties,” said Poppy.

ANTARA