Officials Clean Up Landslide Material at Pusuk Sembalun Lombok Tourist Site

JAKARTA - Joint TNI-Polri officers and the community worked together to clean up the landslide material that closed the traffic access to tourist attractions in the East Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

"In the natural disaster, there were no casualties, but it disrupted traffic flow," said Public Relations Officer of East Lombok Police AKP Nicolas Osman, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, January 16.

Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds that occurred this week caused a landslide on the Pusuk Sembalun tourist route with piles of soil and rocks covering the road.

In addition, landslides occurred at the tourist attraction of Kembang Kuning Village, Sikur District.

As a result, access to transportation was disrupted, so joint officers from the National Police, TNI together with the community tried to clean up the pile of soil using makeshift tools.

"The landslide occurred due to high rainfall intensity that hit Sembalun District for four consecutive days accompanied by strong winds and unstable soil conditions," he said.

Meanwhile, one of the drivers, Nur Abdul Aziz, who was going to Sembalun, admitted that there was a landslide in Pusuk Sembalun and a number of Sembalun tourist roads.

"Yes, I wanted to get off Pusuk, suddenly a landslide which resulted in us waiting for officers to evacuate the land that covered the road," he said.

Aziz said the drivers had to wait for a few minutes to be able to continue their journey to Sembalun and vice versa.

"If for two-wheeled vehicles we walk fast, those with four wheels have to wait a long time, because they can't pass through," he said.

Burhan, one of the residents said that currently the Kembang Kuning Village is experiencing landslides caused by heavy rain with a long duration.

"Today we and the residents are working together to evacuate the landslide, but fortunately there were no casualties and no buildings were damaged," he said.

Previously, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) urged residents in the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) region to be aware of the peak period of the rainy season which occurred in Dasarian II January 2026.

"Currently, the NTB area has entered the rainy season and some are entering the peak period," said BMKG NTB Climatological Station Prakirawan Nindya Kirana.

Based on the BMKG report, the rainfall condition in NTB had decreased during the rainy season in Dasarian I January 2026. The monsoon pause period known as the rainfall reduction is common in Southeast Asia during the rainy season.

Nindya said the public must remain aware of the potential rainfall in the coming days during the peak period of the rainy season, even though there has been a reduction in rainfall some time ago.

"We urge the public to pay attention to cleanliness and discharge in water flow areas, and to be aware of the potential for extreme rain and strong winds that can occur suddenly," he said.