Four residents of Nganjuk buried alive in landslides found: BPBD

Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA) - Four of the 20 residents buried alive by landslides in Selopura Hamlet, Ngetos Village, Nganjuk, East Java, on Sunday, were found, with two having survived the catastrophe, while two others died, the rescue agency stated.

"The two survivors sustained injuries on their legs. They were admitted to the Nganjuk Public Hospital and Ngetos Public Health Center," Acting Head of the East Java Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Yanuar Rachmadi stated here on Monday.

The two deceased are identified as Khasanah, 45, and Sri Utami, 31, who was into her fourth month of pregnancy, Rachmadi stated, adding that search and rescue workers continued to look for 16 other missing villagers.

A backhoe and several rescuers from the National Search and Rescue Agency of the Trenggalek and Surabaya Offices were deployed to the disaster zone to facilitate the search efforts, he stated.

The landslides also caused injuries to 14 other residents, who were given medical treatment at the Ngetos Public Health Center, he revealed.

The deadly landslides occurred on a cliff in Ngetos Village following torrential rains lashing the area on Sunday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time, he remarked.

The Nganjuk Disaster Mitigation Agency has activated its disaster response unit's communication network and mitigation unit while the district's social affairs office has opened a public kitchen to assist the affected residents.

In the first two months of 2021, several hydrological disasters have occurred in the islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi.

In Java Island, flash floods recently swamped some parts of Semarang in Central Java after torrential rains hit the city.

Residents of several areas in Subang District, West Java Province, also experienced flooding. The government has taken steps to ensure those affected by the natural hazards are not left in limbo.

On Feb 13, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin had distributed President Joko Widodo's humanitarian aid packages for the flood victims in Subang District, West Java.

The aid packages comprised 1,500 staple food packages, 200 house cleaning tools, one thousand rapid testing kits, 300 thousand face masks, five thousand cleaning gloves, and one thousand mattresses.