Indonesian landslide toll reaches 31
Residents evacuate their homes on January 1 as rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a landslide triggered by heavy rain in Sukabumi, West Java province. Photo: AFP/Getty
A landslide that struck a village in Indonesia’s West Java province before the new year killed 31 people with two others still missing, officials say.
A search and rescue operation was still under way to look for the missing villagers, seven days since the rain-triggered landslide badly damaged 29 houses in a village of Sukabumi district, a spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster management agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said on Sunday.
“Out of 100 villagers affected by the landslide, 64 are safe and three were injured, while all 31 victims have been identified,” Nugroho said.
Authorities gave an official toll of 15 dead on Wednesday.
Tim SAR gabungan terus evakuasi korban longsor di Desa Sirnaresmi Kec.Cisolok Kab. Sukabumi. Hingga 2/1/2019, pukul 08.00 WIB:
– 32 KK/101 jiwa tertimbun longsor.
– 30 rumah rusak berat.
– 63 orang selamat.
– 3 orang luka-luka.
– 15 orang meninggal dunia.
– 20 orang masih dicari. pic.twitter.com/pTtZVK4Way— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) January 2, 2019
Mr Nugroho said densely-populated Sukabumi with its hilly terrain and porous soil is a landslide-prone area, especially during the rainy season, which has its peak in January and February.
There have been 132 recorded landslides in the district in the past 10 years.
