95 Dead, 13 Missing
At Least 95 Dead, 13 Missing In Central Indonesia Mudslide.
Rescuers pulled more bodies from the debris Sunday after heavy rain in central Indonesia loosened soil and collapsed a hill, setting off a landslide that killed at least 95 villagers and left 13 others missing under piles of mud.
About 2,000 rescuers, including soldiers, police and volunteers, were digging through the mud and the wreckage of crumpled homes, getting some relief from clear weather following days of heavy rain. Excavators, meanwhile, shoved aside earth and the remains of decimated wooden homes.
Police, soldiers and volunteers had used their bare hands and makeshift tools to search for survivors and clear the area on Saturday after the disaster struck on Friday night. (source: Xinhua News/REX)
Residents of Jemblung village in Central Java province’s Banjarnegara district said they heard a roaring sound followed by the raining down of red soil that buried more than 100 houses late Friday.
“The landslide looked like it was spinning down,” said one resident, Subroto, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. “I managed to rescue a pregnant woman, but could not save the other man.”
Villagers dig out a motorcycle buried in the mud after a landslide hit the village. Dozens of homes were buried in the village. Seasonal rains in recent days have caused dozens of landslides and widespread flooding across much of Indonesia. (source: Reuters)
He said one side of the hill collapsed, then another. “In five minutes, there were three (major landslides) and they swept away everything,” Subroto said.
By late afternoon Sunday, 32 bodies had been pulled from the debris, while hopes faded that the 76 people still missing would be found alive, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency.
Many roads and bridges were destroyed, hampering rescue efforts, Nugroho said.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrived at the scene Sunday. He pledged to relocate the hundreds of people left homeless by the disaster, and assured that the government would help provide aid for those who were injured. Eleven injured villagers were hospitalized.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo inspects the site of a landslide that swept away a village in Jemblung, Central Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014. Rescuers pulled more bodies from the debris Sunday after heavy rain in central Indonesia loosened soil and collapsed a hill, setting off the landslide that left dozens of people dead or missing. Widodo arrived at the scene Sunday. He pledged to relocate the hundreds of people left homeless by the disaster, and assured that the government would help provide aid for those who were injured. (AP Photo/A.K. Hendratmo) (The Associated Press)
Many people in Jemblung village said they were aware that the earth on the 150-meter (yard) hill that flanked their remote farming village may not hold. After hearing a deep rumbling sound just after dusk Friday, some fled to safer ground.
But others were either at home or at the local mosque when the mud, rocks and trees tumbled onto their village.
Wawan Wahyuni, a 20-year-old farmer, said he watched helplessly as his grandfather and dozens of his neighbors disappeared beneath mud more than 6 meters (20 feet) deep in some spots.
Rescuers are passed a body bag after a body was discovered in the mudslide, caused by torrential rain. (source: Xinhua/REX)
“I saw them buried alive,” Wahyuni said. “They were yelling ‘Allah Akbar! (God is great!) before being slowly buried.”
Wahyuni himself was buried up to his chest until survivors rescued him seven hours later.
Banjarnegara is located on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java, about 460 kilometers (285 miles) east of Jakarta.
Seasonal rains and high tides in recent days have caused dozens of landslides and widespread flooding across much of Indonesia, a chain of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile, flood-prone plains close to rivers.
Source: NHK World / AP – Niniek Karmini
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NHK World – Indonesia Landslide 95 Dead 13 Missing
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Indonesian rescuers abort search for landslide victims
Death toll for Central Java disaster stands at 95 with 13 missing
Rescuers called off their search for survivors of a massive landslide on the Indonesian island of Java Sunday, with 13 people still missing and 95 dead, officials said.
The landslide buried hundreds of houses in Jemblung village, Central Java province, under mud and rubble on Dec. 12, forcing around 2,000 residents to flee.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, head of information at Indonesia’s disaster management agency, told The Anadolu Agency: “A joint team today found two dead, a mother and her child. The weather is rainy and the wide and thick pile of landslide, and the threat of further slides, led the victims’ families to agree to end the search for survivors.”
He said emergency relief would now focus on providing for 2,038 displaced people.
Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said bad weather led the search being called off, the Jakarta Post reported.
He said: “The rain has been falling incessantly, causing many of the SAR [search and rescue] team members to fear for their safety while carrying out their duties in the field. They are afraid that there will be more landslides. We have paid close attention to those concerns for the sake of their safety.”
He added: “Based on agreement with all parties, including Jemblung residents, we have officially stopped the search for victims today.”
Farming methods that ignored the need to build hillside terraces were blamed for the disaster by the disaster management agency.
Wahyu Wilopo, a lecturer at Gadjah Mada University’s faculty of engineering, told The Anadolu Agency last week: “Around 95 percent of landslides occur due to bad drainage triggered by heavy rainfall.”
The rainy season in Indonesia began in late October, with the islands of Java and Sumatra expected to face threats of flooding and landslides in December amid peak rainfall.
Landslides have caused over 280 deaths this year, more than any other natural disaster in Indonesia. The country is one of the world`s most disaster-prone, facing landslides, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Source: World Bulletin