More than 50 homes were severely damaged and more than 650 people were evacuated
The death toll in the landslide that hit the region near Bandung on Saturday, on the island of Java, Indonesia, rose this Monday to 17, and could increase as more than 70 people remain missing.
The landslide caused by torrential rains buried homes in villages in the West Bandung region, southeast of Jakarta, capital of the vast archipelago that has more than 17,000 islands.
According to local authorities, dozens of people remained without news of their relatives this Monday and were awaiting news near the village of Pasirlangu, 25 kilometers northwest of Bandung.
“The death toll from the landslide west of Bandung has risen to 17,” National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari said, adding that 73 people were missing.
More than 50 homes were severely damaged and more than 650 people were evacuated, the local disaster management agency said.
Around 2,000 soldiers, police and volunteers, assisted by heavy equipment, participated this Monday in search operations near Mount Burangrang, according to a journalist from the France Press news agency.
Rescuers advanced cautiously, sometimes digging by hand, for fear of another landslide due to the unstable terrain and continuous rain.
Disasters such as landslides are common in Indonesia during the rainy season, which typically runs from October to March and saturates the soil.
In November, three provinces on the western island of Sumatra were devastated by floods that killed around 1,200 people, while hundreds of thousands of residents were displaced and sheltered in emergency shelters.
Environmentalists, experts and even the Indonesian government have pointed to deforestation as a contributing factor to the floods and landslides that have devastated these three provinces of Sumatra.
Last week, authorities announced the revocation of the licenses of 28 logging, mining and hydroelectric companies in response to the floods.
West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi blamed Saturday’s disaster on the vast plantations around Pasirlangu, used mainly for growing vegetables, and promised to relocate affected residents.
