Landslide hits 16 houses in East Java

A landslide hit at least 16 houses in Lumajang, East Java, on early Tuesday morning, following torrential rain that had poured since Monday afternoon.

Tempursari district chief Mujmal said some of the houses, located in Kaliuling and Taman Ayu villages, collapsed.

“We have yet to receive any reports of casualties,” he told tempointeraktif.com.

Mujmal said the incident occurred at around 4:30 a.m., when the villagers, most of them Muslim, were having their pre-dawn meal before fasting.

Most of the villagers in the hilly area live at the foot of a 10-meter-high cliff, exposing themselves to the risk of landslides.

Last year, landslides also hit the same area.