Tumbang Tree Closes Ciloto Cipanas Peak Line

CIANJUR- A joint officer of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Cianjur Regency, West Java, made quick treatment to reopen the temporarily cut Puncak route due to fallen trees that closed the road runway.

Head of BPBD Cianjur, Asep Sukma Wijaya said a large tree on the side of Puncak road, precisely in Ciloto Village, Cipanas District, suddenly fell after heavy rain accompanied by strong winds.

"Two motorbikes and a car were heavily damaged by a very large tree that crossed the main road connecting Cianjur and Bogor Regencies, there were no fatalities, one person was reported to have suffered a broken wound," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, January 26.

Currently, joint officers consist of BPBD Cianjur, Damkar Cianjur, PMI Cianjur and police officers are still trying to cut down fallen trees so that traffic flow can return to normal.

During the evacuation process carried out by officers, the queue of vehicles from both directions was seen extending with a queue tail of up to 5 kilometers not moving from both directions, so his party together with joint officers tried to carry out quick handling using a machine.

"We are targeting the handling of fallen trees to be completed before midnight because the size is quite large, while the traffic flow is quite high towards Bogor or vice versa to Cianjur," he said.

Along with the high rainfall until February based on information from the BMKG, his party asked road users to remain vigilant and careful, especially when crossing the landslide-prone route, floods and fallen trees along the main Puncak-Cianjur route.

"We ask residents, especially road users, to increase their vigilance when crossing the Puncak to Cianjur route, not to park their vehicles under trees and it is better to stop in a safe place when it rains heavily accompanied by strong winds," he said.

The head of Ciloto Village, Marwan, said the fallen tree caused one motorcyclist who passed from Cianjur to Jakarta to suffer a broken bone and had been taken to Cimacan Hospital, while the driver of the minibus was safe even though the condition of the rear car was badly crushed by a tree.

"The tree with a height of more than 15 meters closed all the main roads of Puncak, causing long queues of vehicles from both directions. Previously, heavy rain accompanied by strong winds caused trees to fall," he said.

Meanwhile, police officers temporarily closed the route to Puncak from Cipanas, during the process of evacuating fallen trees and diverting the flow of vehicles to a number of alternative routes.