Land Movement Damaged Dozens Of Houses In West Manggarai

One of the houses damaged due to soil movement/Photo: Antara

LABUAN BAJO - Eleven families in the Preparation Village of Tado Fort, Sano Nggoang District, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, have been affected by the phenomenon of ground movement that has occurred since 2018.

A community leader from Wae Munting Village, Viktor Bitrudis, in Wae Munting Village, Preparation Village of Tado Fort, Monday, March 28, said that the movement of land caused damage to the homes of nine families in Wae Munting Village and two families in Dange Village.

According to the villagers, the movement of the ground caused the subsidence of the house, made the house tilted, caused the house to collapse, and caused parts of the house to crack.

In Wae Munting Village, there are houses with cracked walls, pillars and floors. Soil cracks were also visible on the roads and in the courtyards of residents' houses.

There are at least four houses that were damaged so badly that they could no longer be lived in in the village.

Benjamin Nenohaifeto (43), Mateus Demin (56), Simplisius Jempu (40), and Kosmas Mandang (47) took their family members to flee to relatives and neighbors' houses because their houses were damaged by the movement of the ground.

​​​The ground movement also caused damage to houses belonging to Wilhelmus Gostram, Kristoforus Mantat, Sisi Dawas, Daniel Derin, and Viktor Bitrudis in Wae Munting Village.

In Dange Village, the houses belonging to Karolus Kembung and Mikael Agung were damaged by the movement of the ground.

Viktor said that there were still residents in their houses damaged by the ground movement, hoping the government would help them.

"This is a disaster, we have reported it. How the government handles the situation we are experiencing, we are waiting," said Viktor as quoted by Antara.