West Java landslide buries village, 5 killed, 72 missing

Massive landslide in West Java, Indonesia, buries village leaving 5 dead and 72 missing

At least five people were killed and 72 others were reported missing following a massive landslide which  buried Ciwidey village in a tea growing area near Bandung, south of Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, officials were reported as saying.

Flooding in Bandung, West Java, on Sunday.  Photo Credit: Antara

Partial map of Indonesia with Bandung near the center.

Political Map of Indonesia (US Govt). Click image to enlarge.

The landslide buried tea plantation workers’ housing area (barracks), leaving about 500 people homeless earlier this morning.

“It had been raining very heavily since yesterday [Monday] and that probably caused the landslide,” Disaster Management Agency spokesman told the AFP news agency.

“We believe the landslide area could be the size of two football fields. The tea-processing plant and 50 houses were also buried.”

Bandung district has experienced the worst flooding in 8 years, with more than 10,000 houses inundated,  state-run Antara news agency said, AFP reported.

Flooding in Bandung and Jakarta have forced thousands of people out of their homes over the past 10 days.

“The daily activities for Dayeuhkolot residents have been halted because of the floods, reaching heights of between 30 cm and 200 cm in the village.” Antara reported.

A combination of deforestation, seismic activity and tropical monsoon rains is expected to cause more landslide in Indonesia.

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