The West Sumatra-Bengkulu Route Was Cut Off Due To A Landslide

JAKARTA - The landslide that occurred in Pesisir Selatan Regency, West Sumatra (West Sumatra) on Friday afternoon, has cut off access to the national road as a link between West Sumatra and Bengkulu.

"The landslide material has closed road access, until tonight the work and cleaning continues," said the Head of the South Coast BPBD Doni Gusrizal when contacted from Padang, Friday, December 17, as reported by Antara.

The landslide points were in Luwung, Bayang District, then Batang Kapas, Batang Kapas District, and Bukit Pulai, Batang Kapas District.

"To clean up the landslide material tonight, heavy equipment from the district government and the provincial government were deployed," he said.

This landslide occurred at around 16.00 WIB due to high rainfall that has flushed the local area since Friday morning. In addition to paralyzing road access, landslides were also reported to have affected a resident's house in Central Lakitan, Lengayang.

BPBD continues to urge residents to be careful driving in rainy conditions, especially when crossing landslide-prone points.

On the other hand, flooding was also reported in five sub-districts in Pesisir Selatan Regency, namely Tapan, Batang Kapas, Lengayang, Silaut, and Tarusan.

Floods inundated residential areas with an average height of one to two meters, while inside residents' houses it reached half a meter.

As of 19.30 WIB, the BPBD team and disaster personnel were still at the location to provide assistance and evacuation, meanwhile the rain was still pouring down the local area.

"So until tonight our focus is on rescuing and evacuating residents who need evacuation," said Doni.