Tornado Hits 2 Villages at the Foot of Mount Semeru
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17 February 2021 19:25 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Lumajang - A tornado or locally known puting beliung reportedly hit two villages at the foot of Mount Semeru, Candipuro District, Lumajang Regency, East Java, on Wednesday afternoon, February 17. Dozens of houses were damaged.
A 25-second amateur video obtained by Tempo showed the background sound of a woman panicking over the sight of a windstorm while shouting God’s name.
The other footage with a duration of 18 seconds also displayed strong winds that caused coconut trees to sway.
“At least 16 houses are reportedly damaged,” said Supri, a resident of Candipuro district, via a phone call on Wednesday afternoon.
The head of the disaster prevention and logistics of the Lumajang Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), M. Wawan Hadi, confirmed the tornado. “We are still making the assessment, and the team has been deployed to the site,” Wawan told Tempo.
Tornado is one of the hydrometeorological disasters, he added. “Residents are asked to stay vigilant,” he said, underlining that almost all disasters potentially occur in Lumajang Regency that in recent weeks, was affected by the volcanic activity of Mount Semeru.
Read: Mount Semeru Spews Lava Producing Hot Clouds Affecting its Vicinity
DAVID PRIYASIDARTA (CONTRIBUTOR)
