Sukabumi Residents Warned to Stay Alert to New Landslides
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13 January 2019 10:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned the residents of Cimapag Hamlet in Sukabumi District, West Java Province, to stay alert to the threats of new landslides due to ongoing intense rainfall.
"The rainfall intensity remains high, and new landslides may occur. Hence, the residents of Cimapag Hamlet should stay alert and avoid all vulnerable areas, including the saturated slopes of steep cliffs," BMKG Head Dwikorita Karnawati warned.
She issued the warning in a press statement that Antara received here on Saturday, Jan 12, or a day after visiting the hamlet of Sinaresmi Village in Cisolok Sub-district that was ripped off by a landslide on December 31, 2018.
The landslide buried 29 houses, killed 32 people, wounded three residents, and led to another resident going missing. Some 64 residents survived the deadly landslide.
During her visit, Karnawati was accompanied by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency Head Doni Monardo and Head of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) Karbani.
Karnawati noted that the PVMBG has mapped out areas prone to landslides, while the BMKG is responsible for issuing early warnings related to the rainfall intensity and extreme weather conditions to regional disaster mitigation agencies.
"The map shows that this area lies in the moderate and high zones for movements of earth and debris. It means earth movements may occur in this area if the rainfall intensity is above normal," she noted.
During their visit to Sinaresmi Village, Karnawati and her colleagues planted vetiver grass to help reduce the risks of erosion and strengthen cliff slopes naturally.
Sukabumi District is just one of the areas in West Java that are prone to natural disasters.
According to the West Java Provincial Disaster Mitigation Agency, a total of 1,561 natural disasters such as landslide had occurred in different parts of the province during 2018, killing 50 people and affecting 75,706 residents.
ANTARA
