Agus Maryono and Nana Rukmana, Cilacap/Cirebon – Landslides and floods triggered by incessant monsoon rain over the last four days in Cilacap, Central Java, have laid waste to 20 mountain villages spread over five districts.
A local official said that up to 105 houses had been buried by landslides, forcing 2,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
There were reports of one fatality in the incident – Jannatun, 65, who was abandoned ill without food or medicine in one of the villages.
The evacuated residents were living in appalling conditions in makeshift camps. There was no firewood or kerosene with which to cook.
Heru Susedyono, head of Majenang district, one of the affected areas, said that a landslide had hit Kutabima and Boja villages Tuesday night. "At least 45 houses were cut off because they were covered in debris from the landslide," Heru said.
All of the 105 houses that were buried were in West Cilacap, Heru said, adding that all residents had evacuated to various temporary shelters.
He said the floods had destroyed 3,000 hectares of paddy fields and killed tens of thousands of chickens raised by local people.
"In our village alone, at least 1,000 hectares of paddy fields were damaged, and about 5,000 chickens were swept away," said Muttaqin, head of Mulyasari village, Majenang district.
Cirebon and Indramayu regencies, both on the north coast of Java and both relatively susceptible to disasters during the rainy season, have set aside Rp 3 billion (US$270,000) and Rp 2 billion, respectively, to fund preparations for disaster relief efforts in the fear that floods or landslides should strike.
Both regencies have also barred all officials from taking leave and traveling outside of the areas.
"We have arranged the funds as part of our efforts to brace for the possibility of disasters during the current rainy season. The funds will be allocated for a number of areas in Cirebon regency that are prone to flooding or landslides," Cirebon Regent Dedi Supardi said.
He said that the money would be distributed by the Natural Disaster Mitigation task force (Satkorlak PBA).
"The Satkorlak PBA will be directly led by the provincial secretary and will manage the disaster mitigation funds," said Dedi.
He said that his office would set up disaster response coordination posts in the districts. "The posts will function as information and mitigation centers for victims. They will also act as emergency health posts in the event of a disaster," he said.
The Indramayu regency administration has also banned its officials from taking leave.