21 People Killed in Disasters Caused by Cyclone Cempaka
30 November 2017 09:08 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The death toll caused by flooding and landslides in Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java, increased to 21 people. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) expects the number to rise considering the inaccessible disaster areas.
BNPB Information Data Center Head Sutopo Purwo Nugroho explained that some areas in Pacitan, East Java are currently unable to be reached. Landslides and flooding have cut the access to Pacitan from Java’s southern coast route, which is from the direction of Wonogiri District.
Read: Flood, Landslide in Yogyakarta Kill 7
State electricity company PLN decided to turn off the electricity supply for 76,000 customers for safety reasons. Sutopo said that the fiber optics were ruined by the flooding and landslides. "100 base transceiver stations (BTS) were broken, there is no power or battery," he said.
The flooding and landslides are a direct effect of the tropical cyclone Cempaka that formed on Monday off the Southern coast of the Java Island. The cyclone is predicted to cause 2.5-6 meter waves to form in the East Javan southern seas, the eastern part of the Java Sea, the southern part of Sunda Strait, the southern Banten waters up to West Java, Indian Ocean’s western area, and Central Java’s southern area.
The effects of cyclone Cempaka was discussed in the hydrological and geological disaster management coordination meeting led by Human Development and Culture Coordinating Minister Puan Maharani on Wednesday, November 29. She explained that 1.8 million Indonesians have been affected by floodings and landslides in 2017.
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