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Residents must brace for floods, landslides as rainy season begins: Authorities
Residents of Kampung Kademangan in Setu subdistrict, South Tangerang, Banten, have been mourning the death of Anggi Febriyanto, who was buried on Tuesday
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span>Residents of Kampung Kademangan in Setu subdistrict, South Tangerang, Banten, have been mourning the death of Anggi Febriyanto, who was buried on Tuesday. She had been killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rains the day before.
The 26-year-old was a housewife who lived with her husband Angga Saputra, 28, and their two children. At the time of heavy downpour, she was visiting her grandmother’s house with her younger son, located nearby but below the main road.
Her husband, Angga was waiting for his wife to return to their home, located on the main road and on higher ground. On her motorbike, she and her 3-year-old child took a shortcut back. But on the way, the ground above them started to tremble and debris fell onto the road she and her son were traveling on.
Local residents became aware of their situation when Anggi screamed for help while holding her child.
After hearing that a landslide occurred, Angga rushed to the location only to find both his wife and son buried under the soil and rubble.
“I immediately took them both to the hospital. Sadly, my wife didn’t survive. Thankfully, my son did,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday during her funeral.
South Tangerang Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Chaerudin suspected that the concrete wall holding back the soil did not have the proper foundation, noting the lack of iron bars to strengthen it. The landslide had also been triggered by a heavy downpour in the area.
“The rain caused a land shift; the soil pushed attains the wall and caused it to collapse,” he said as reported by kompas.com.
Setu subdistrict chief Hamdani concurred that uneven and unstable ground conditions around the area had also contributed to the landslide. He explained that Kademangan was one of three areas within the subdistrict that were prone to landslides, adding that the two others were Karendangan and Muncul.
In order to anticipate future landslides, the subdistrict office plans to display warning signs as well as deploy officials around the landslide-prone areas. As for preemptive measures, he did not immediately provide details.
He also did not give a further explanation of who was responsible for the collapsed walls. No warning signs were displayed when the Post visited the area.
It was not the first landslide in South Tangerang as there had been a number of incidents taking place in Jakarta’s satellite city.
In November, residents of Karendangan, also in Setu subdistrict, panicked following reports of cracks in the ground that had caused structural damages to several houses and a private school. BPBD alerted residents that it was a sign of a potential landslide.
In November last year, one house was damaged following a landslide that hit Pamulang. Debris falling into the nearby Bambu Apus River blocked its water flow and caused some 29 houses to be inundated by floodwaters.
The most known fatal landslide in South Tangerang occurred in the Situ Gintung reservoir. Triggered by heavy rain, the embankment collapsed and water gushed to nearby residential areas, killing at least 100 people.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned that Greater Jakarta would see the start of the rainy season at the beginning of this month, with a greater potential for heavier rain in the upcoming weeks. The agency predicted that the rainy season would peak in February.
The Jakarta BPBD has also mapped out areas prone to landslides across the capital city, said agency head Subejo. The areas are categorized as prone to landslide according to research conducted by the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG).
Most of the areas are located near rivers, he said, adding that based on the data, most are located in South Jakarta.
He said the agency had prepared measures to anticipate perennial floods as well as landslides.
“We keep reminding residents to remain vigilant while the city administration formulates mitigation measures such as strengthening river banks by planting more trees,” he said as reported by kompas.com recently.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Agus Wibowo said the government continued to promote education and support for the areas that are prone to natural disasters through the Desa Tangguh Bencana (Disaster-Resistant Village) program, in which residents were trained to be on alert in the case of a disaster.
Regarding the incident in Setu subdistrict, Agus urged local leaders and residents to raise awareness in their community.
In addition, he said residents also needed to realize the importance of anticipating natural disasters by educating fellow residents and forming an emergency team. (hpw)
