Condolences From The 25 Meter Cliff That Landslide In Pagentan Village

A cliff as high as 25 meters in Pagentan, Banjarnegara, Central Java, where landslides and materials fell on people's houses below. ANTARA/HO-BPBD Banjarnegara.

BANJARNEGARA - The natural disaster in the form of a cliff landslide on Friday, November 19 at 21.30 WIB, maybe an event that remains in the memories of the residents of Pagentan Village, Pagentan District, Banjarnegara Regency, Central Java.

The cliff as high as almost 25 meters experienced a landslide, as a result of which materials in the form of soil and rocks fell on the two houses of residents who were below it.

As many as four people were found dead in their house which was buried by landslide material, while one other person was found safe and immediately taken to the nearest health center for treatment due to his injuries.

The Head of Pagentan Village, Abdul Kohar, said that at the time of the incident, one of his residents was not far from the location of the landslide cliff.

The resident heard a very loud sound so they immediately ran to the location of the source of the sound to check.

As soon as they found out that two houses were buried by landslides, the residents went straight to the hamlet head's residence to report the incident. Furthermore, the information is also forwarded to the village head and other related parties.

The sad news then spread quickly throughout the village. Residents who heard the information immediately flocked to the scene.

Abdul Kohar also said that when he arrived at the location, he saw that two houses were already heavily damaged due to being buried by landslides. His party together with the villagers immediately took the initiative to evacuate manually.

Not long after, a joint team from various elements arrived to carry out a more thorough evacuation. It was a very long night. The evacuation took place from the time the incident began until the next day, namely Saturday, November 20, at around 05.00 WIB.

Meanwhile, the Head of BPBD Banjarnegara Regency Aris Sudaryanto explained that after the evacuation, the injured survivor PO (7) was immediately taken to the Pagentan 1 Health Center, while the four victims who were found dead, namely B (14), F (11), A (midwife), and P (38).

After the incident, his party immediately carried out emergency response and disaster management activities. The activity also involved nearly 37 organizations ranging from BPBD (Regional Disaster Management Agency), TNI, Police, PMI, Social Welfare Personnel, Basarnas, and other volunteer elements, including residents.

When conducting a victim search operation, the Banjarnegara BPBD deployed one heavy equipment or excavator and other supporting equipment. In addition, the team used extrusion equipment that was deployed and operated by the Wonosobo SAR Post Basarnas.

Field post

About the incident, Banjarnegara BPBD Head of Emergency and Logistics, Andri Sulistyo, said that his party had opened a Disaster Management Field Post in Pagentan Village for three days.

Andri also appealed to people living in the local area not to panic and remain calm regarding this incident.

However, he also asked residents to remain careful and increase vigilance, especially in the event of high intensity and long duration rains.

When the cliff landslide in Pagentan Village, he said, it was not raining, but in the afternoon before the incident, it rained quite heavily.

In addition, a few days before the incident, it was raining almost every day in the area.

Therefore, the Banjarnegara BPBD asked residents to immediately evacuate independently if heavy rains fell for more than two hours, especially for those who live around the slopes. Residents are advised to return to their homes when the rain has completely stopped and conditions are safe enough.

BPBD Banjarnegara continues to socialize with all residents in this area to anticipate the impact of the La Nina phenomenon which is feared to have the potential to trigger a hydrometeorological disaster.

He also asked residents to play an active role in controlling the environment around their respective homes. Residents are asked to immediately report to the local village apparatus if they find signs of soil fractures.

In addition, residents can also report directly if they know information related to the disaster to the Operations Control Center or Pusdalops BPBD Banjarnegara Regency.

Take effect

Related to this incident, an academician from Jenderal Sudirman University, Dr. Indra Permanajati, reminded that during the rainy season the increase in water intensity will affect the increase in the number of hydrometeorological disasters that can accompany it, including landslides.

The Coordinator of the Geological Disaster Mitigation Center of Jenderal Sudirman University explained that hydrometeorological disasters, in general, include floods, landslides, and tornadoes which will certainly have an impact on locations prone to and vulnerable to disasters.

He also reminded the importance of strengthening landslide disaster mitigation by strengthening slopes as a solution that needs to be done in residential areas close to cliffs or hills.

Slope strengthening is an engineering technique for residential buildings in landslide-prone areas, one of which is by planting trees with strong roots for structural mitigation such as making taluds or gabions.

Meanwhile, for houses that have been built without slope protection, according to him, reinforcement must be immediately carried out with simple materials, such as bamboo and wood.

According to him, bamboo can be plugged horizontally along the hill to withstand soil pressure from above. To be stronger, it can be made two or three levels according to slope conditions.

The more bamboo used to withstand the pressure from above, according to him, the better and can be more optimal in increasing security.

However, the thing that also needs to be considered is the proper arrangement, which is arranged horizontally along the length of the slope, then regular water channels are made to reduce excessive water entering the ground.

This needs to be done because if the water that enters the soil is excessive then the water pressure can turn the soil into plastic and the soil loses its strength to survive on the slope. This is feared to cause landslides.

Therefore, the channel needs to be made regularly so that the water will be directed to the channels that lead to the river.

With these various approaches, it is expected to support disaster mitigation efforts so that the risk of disaster that may be caused will be smaller.

From the landslide cliff incident in Pagengan Village which left mourning, of course, it also needs to be a shared reminder of the importance of mitigation efforts to continue to strengthen disaster risk reduction programs.