TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Fresh cracks in soil, houses in Ponorogo spreads fear among villagers
Change Size
Stay alert: A military personnel inspects cracks on the wall of a house belonging to a resident of Dayakan village in Ponorogo, East Java, on Friday. (Courtesy of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency/File)
F
resh cracks in the soil and walls of houses in a small, hillside village in Ponorogo, East Java, have triggered panic among 270 villagers, causing them to leave their homes for fear of falling victim to a landslide, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said in Jakarta on Friday.
BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the Dayakan villagers reported the appearance of the cracks on Wednesday after hearing thunderous sounds emanating from underground during heavy rainfall, followed by the formation of cracks in soil across the village.
“The fissures on the 300-meter hill have continued to expand. Some of them were one meter in width and three meters in depth,” Sutopo said in a statement.
(Read also: Ponorogo landslide evacuees feel queasy, dizzy)
The villagers started to leave their homes and move to safer grounds after they saw cracks in the walls of their houses, reminding them of a recent landslide that buried 28 people alive in Banaran, a neighboring village, last Saturday.
The Ponorogo Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has provided tents and logistics to the Dayakan villagers.
On the search for victims of the landslide in Banaran, the BNPT reported that as of Friday noon workers had recovered only three bodies. The operation has been hampered by poor weather and rough terrain. (hol/ebf)
