S

ome 2,000 residents of Sirukem, Kalisat Kidul and Kertosari subdistricts in Kalibening district, Banjarnegara regency, Central Java, have been evacuated to safe ground in anticipation of landslides.

Banjarnegara Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Catur Subandrio said that since Tuesday, residents of the subdistricts had experienced localized earthquakes that were not felt in other subdistricts.

'€œWe contacted the PVMBG [Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center] office and were informed that there were no earthquakes recorded. That'€™s why people decided to evacuate over fears that the earthquakes may signal landslides,'€ said Catur.

He said some residents went to relatives'€™ houses while others took shelter at their respective subdistrict administration offices.

He added that his office had coordinated with the local station of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to explain to people about the earthquakes.

He said his office had also conducted a field check in Kalibening because the district was categorized as a red zone for landslides.

Banjarnegara is the most landslide prone area in Central Java. Banjarnegara Deputy Regent Hadi Supeno said 70 percent of the regency was a plateau that was prone to landslides.

'€œEvery rainy season we are always prepared for the natural disaster,'€ Hadi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said over the last three weeks, as the regency was entering the rainy season, a number of areas had experienced landslides, leading to some access roads being cut off. Cracks in the ground had also appeared in a number of districts including Kalibening, Punggelan and Karangkobar.

In December last year, a landslide in Jemblung village, Karangkobar, buried alive 109 residents along with flattening 53 houses. Experts said that extremely steep slopes and fast-flowing streams were key factors in the recent landslide.

In March 2009, a landslide triggered by hours of incessant rain covered at least three houses in Pasegeran village. No fatalities were reported.

In 2006, another landslide disaster killed over 200 people in Sijeruk subdistrict.

'€œThat'€™s why we conducted anticipatory measures early to avoid fatalities. Every subdistrict included in the red zone has prepared disaster response posts,'€ said Hadi, adding that evacuating people every time warning signs for landslides were observed was a priority for the safety of residents.

Meanwhile, Antara news agency reported that a landslide that hit Salawu in Tasikmalaya regency, West Java, on Wednesday at 3 p.m. did not disrupt traffic along the Singaparna to Garut route.

'€œThe route remains smooth in both directions,'€ head of the Tasikmalaya Police'€™s traffic unit, Adj. Comr. Asep Muslihat, said at the landslide site in Tagog village, Salawu, on Thursday.

The landslide swept away restaurant and pharmacy buildings as well as two cars and a motorcycle. One person is still missing following the incident.

A joint team comprising BPBD officials, search and rescue personnel, police and military personnel as well as volunteers was still searching for the person reported missing.

The search was temporarily halted in the evening due to heavy rain and a lack of lighting.

'€œThe search is to be continued tomorrow,'€ Tasikmalaya BPBD'€™s reconstruction section head Suhartono said on Thursday.

Suhartono added that 10 houses in Salawu were evacuated as they were considered at risk of possible landslides that might follow Wednesday'€™s incident.