Jakarta; Set off by heavy rainfall and unstable soil; two
landslides killed at least 11 people in Java; Indonesia's most populous island.
Rescue workers were searching for survivors; disaster officials said on Sunday.
Among those killed in the landslides in West Java Province were the head of a
local disaster relief agency and an Indonesian Army captain who had gone to
help rescue survivors from the first landslide on Saturday afternoon. They were
caught in a second landslide that evening, said a foreign news agency
report. A six-year-old boy was also reported to be among those killed. The landslides
also destroyed a bridge and cut off several roads in the West Java village of
Cihanjuang. Rescuers worked into the night but faced an urgent need for heavy
machinery to help move earth and reach any possible survivors. ‘We're still
documenting how many are missing after the second landslide because there were
many people who joined the original rescue effort;’ said Bandung rescue agency
spokeswoman Seni Wulandari. At least one survivor was seriously injured; while
11 people were confirmed dead; Wulandari said. Fatal landslides and flash
floods are common across the Indonesian archipelago; where seasonal downpours
are frequent and relentless. In September last year, at least 11 people were
killed in landslides on Borneo island while a few months earlier; landslides in
Sulawesi killed dozens. Indonesia's disaster agency has estimated that 125
million Indonesians - nearly half the country's population - live in areas at
risk of landslides.
by: mhmaamay mhmamay
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