Tornadoes On Sumba Island NTT: 32 Residents' Houses Damaged, 4 Died

Deputy Regent of Southwest Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Marthen Christian Taka (medium) when handing over emergency assistance/ANTARA)

The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) said villages and one sub-district in Southwest Sumba Regency (SBD) Sumba Island, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province were affected by a natural tornado. "Based on the data collection carried out by BPBD, there were three villages and one sub-district in Kodi District, Southwest Sumba Regency which were affected by the tornado on Saturday. This disaster also caused four people to die and four people were injured. The injured victims have now recovered," said Head of BPBD of Southwest Sumba Regency Samuel Boro when contacted from Kupang, Antara, Friday, May 5. He mentioned villages and sub-districts in Kodi District that were affected by the tornado, namely Ate Dalo Village, Tanjung Karoso Village, Wura Homba Village, and Homba Rande Village. According to him, the natural disaster that occurred during heavy rains also damaged 32 houses, consisting of 21 heavily damaged houses, five moderately damaged houses and six lightly damaged houses. He said the Southwest Sumba Regency Government had built a post to make it easier for the government to distribute emergency response assistance for disaster victims in the four regions. He added that the Southwest Sumba Regency area on Sumba Island is one of the areas prone to natural disasters of hurricanes. "The affected areas are areas prone to natural disasters, both strong winds and tornadoes," said Samuel Boro. He hopes that the people in the area will always be vigilant when heavy rains occur accompanied by strong winds. "If there is a strong wind or tornado to find a safe place to take cover, so that the building materials for the house do not come off due to strong winds," said Samuel Boro.