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Whirlwinds damage homes in East Nusa Tenggara, Yogyakarta
The recovery may cost hundreds of millions of rupiah.
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Residents survey a house damaged by a 'puting beliung' (whirlwind) in North Central Timor regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). (Handout/North Timor Tengah BPBD via kompas.com)
A puting beliung (whirlwind) damaged at least five homes in North Central Timor regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday.
The strong winds hit Humusu Saniup village in North Insana district, North Central Timor, at 11 a.m. local time.
“The whirlwind was accompanied by heavy rain,” North Central Timor Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Yosefina Lake said on Sunday, as reported by kompas.com.
No casualties were reported. Affected residents took shelter in the homes of their relatives and neighbors.
Read also: La Nina to cause heavy rainfall across Indonesia until February: Weather agency
Yosefina said authorities had yet to calculate the material losses caused by the whirlwind, but she estimated that the recovery would cost hundreds of millions of rupiah.
“Emergency disaster aid will be disbursed on Monday in the form of zinc roofing and staple foods,” she said.
On Thursday, a strong whirlwind caused heavy damage to about 50 homes in Gunung Kidul regency, Yogyakarta. The incident did not result in casualties, but residents were forced to take shelter, Kompas TV reported.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned the public about the ongoing La Niña climactic phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, which tends to cause extreme weather, including whirlwinds, in the archipelago. (trn)
