Whirlwind Hits Pamekasan Again

Pamekasan, East Java (Antara) - A whirlwind that struck the Larangan village in the Pamekasan district on Madura Island, East Java, destroyed a number of houses on Tuesday afternoon, stated an official. "The Pamekasan district officials and Larangan Village Head Agus Budi Santoso are making their way to the whirlwind-hit area to obtain first-hand information about the number of houses destroyed by the strong whirlwind," noted Larangan village spokesman Sunairi. He explained that so far, no fatalities had been reported, but the material losses caused by the whirlwind are estimated to reach millions of rupiah. Earlier, in mid-January 2014, the whirlwind had also hit the districts of Pamekasan and Sampang on Madura Island and damaged dozens of houses. Head of Pamekasan Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Budi Irianto reported that the whirlwind in mid-January had hit the villages of Lenteng, Pangbatok, and Badung in Pamekasan, and the Omben village in the Sampang District. In the Banyuwangi district of East Java, at least 88 houses were also damaged by a whirlwind that struck on January 30, 2014. (*)