TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The search for landslide victims in Banjarnegara, Central Java, has been suspended due to heavy rainfall in the area, and is slated to resume on Friday, December 19, 2014.
"The search for missing victims has been suspended since 1:00 PM local time, due to the torrential downpour in the area," said the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB)'s Head of Public Relations, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho to Tempo in Jakarta on Thursday, December 18, 2014. "The operation will resume tomorrow morning [Friday, December 19, 2014]."
Sutopo said that the search for victims on Thursday resulted in the discovery of three bodies, which brings up the casualty count to 86, while 22 others remain missing.
Meanwhile, the trunk route that connects Banjarnegara and Pekalongan has been cleared, although the road is slated to remain closed for public use until authorities have declared it safe for traffic to pass through. Fifteen units of heavy machineries have been deployed to clear the road from debris, while several tanker trucks were tasked to spray the help the cleaning operation.
To date, BNPB has established 10 refugee shelters across the area, which has a capacity to house 1,397 refugees.
Sutopo added that BNPB plans to hold a coordination meeting at Yogyakarta's Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), to discuss the installation of a landslide early warning system in the area, which will involve representatives from the Geological Agency, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI), The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Indonesian National Flight and Space Institution (LAPAN) and other experts in the matter.
ANTARANEWS