BLITAR - A landslide that occurred in Wlingi District, Blitar Regency, East Java, caused a resident to die after being buried by landslide material while passing on a hilly road.
The Head of the Central Control Operation (Pusdalops) of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Blitar Regency, Saiful, said the victim was named Suyoto (57), a resident of Genjong Village, Ngadirenggo Village, Wlingi District.
"At that time it rained with heavy intensity. Initially it had already collapsed and then another landslide occurred. When this landslide, the victim who passed was hit by soil material," said Saiful in Blitar, Sunday, March 15 at night.
He explained that the victim was crossing the path that residents used to look for grass. The landslide material is known to come from the kitchen of a house belonging to a resident named Jino who was carried away by the landslide.
At the time of the incident, the owner of the house and his family members were not in the kitchen so all the residents of the house were safe.
Saiful added that many residents' houses in the area were in hilly areas. High rainfall made the soil condition unstable and triggered landslides.
The incident was immediately reported to the Blitar Regency BPBD and the Blitar Police, so that officers and residents immediately searched for the victim.
"After a search by residents and teams at the location, the victim was finally found," he said.
As an initial anticipation step, the BPBD Blitar Regency installed tarpaulins in the landslide area to minimize the potential for subsequent landslides.
BPBD also coordinates with village-level institutions and related parties to carry out further handling.
Officers together with volunteers and village officials are still monitoring the location of the incident.
"The public around the location is urged to remain vigilant against the potential for subsequent landslides if the rain returns," said Saiful.
In addition to Genjong Village, landslides also occurred in Ringintelu Village, Ngadirenggo Village, Wlingi District.
The landslide material was reported to have almost hit the side of the residents' house. BPBD officers and volunteers plan to do volunteer work to clean up the soil material that has accumulated around the house.
Meanwhile, the Head of Public Relations of the Blitar Police, Aiptu Saeful Muheni, said the victim's family had accepted the incident as a disaster.
"The victim's family accepted the incident as a calamity," he said.
The police also appealed to the public to be more careful during the rainy season by increasing vigilance and avoiding areas that are potentially prone to landslides.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
