Cisarua landslide becomes a national mirror, the Minister of Home Affairs alludes to the weakness of regional mitigation

BANDUNG WEST - Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian emphasized that the landslide disaster in Cisarua District, West Bandung Regency, West Java, must be a serious warning for all local governments to strengthen the mapping of vulnerable areas and the mitigation of hydrometeorological disasters.

Tito assessed that the incident could not be solely seen as a normal natural disaster, but rather a reflection of the region's poor preparedness in anticipating hydrometeorological risks, especially due to heavy rains.

"We must map these vulnerable areas. Every regent, mayor, and governor must map it nationally to anticipate hydrometeorological vulnerability. Heavy rain like this could happen again," said Tito while directly reviewing the landslide location in West Bandung, Antara, Sunday, January 25.

Naturally, the Cisarua area has a high level of vulnerability. Heavy rainfall is exacerbated by the loose soil structure so that it is easy to move when it is saturated with water.

"If we look at it, besides heavy rain, the soil structure here is loose. It is fertile on one side for plants, but on the other side it is prone because the soil is not solid," he said.

Apart from natural factors, Tito also highlighted changes in land use in hilly areas which he considered increased the risk of disasters. According to him, areas with steep slopes have now been filled with settlements, while strong-rooted protective plants have been replaced by horticultural and vegetable crops.

"This hilly area with many settlements, and protective plants whose roots are planted in many are replaced by horticulture and vegetables. That makes it very vulnerable if there is heavy rain," said Tito.

He assessed that the condition not only occurred in Cisarua, but also had similarities with a number of other areas that had previously been hit by similar disasters, such as Banjarnegara and Cilacap.

In the short term, Tito emphasized that the government's main priority was to maximize the search for victims who were still missing, accompanied by assistance to the victims' families and residents affected by the disaster.

"The first is the short term, as much as possible to find the missing. The deceased is assisted by his family, and those who are relocated have also been assisted," he said.

However, in the long term, Tito assessed that the landslide-affected area was no longer suitable for settlement. He emphasized the need for the relocation of residents, rehabilitation of the area, and reforestation with strong-rooted plants to strengthen the soil structure.

"In my opinion, places like this should not be occupied anymore. It must be rehabilitated, reforested, planted with plants whose roots are hard so that the soil structure can strengthen again. If it comes back, it will collapse again," he said.

Regarding the possibility of legal action for the incident, Tito stated that it still needed to be studied further and was not the main focus in handling the disaster at this time.