Strong winds that hit four villages in Sidoarjo District, East Java Province, on Sunday afternoon, damaged at least 291 houses and injured 4 residents, the Sidoarjo Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) reported.
The injured residents were identified as M. Zainul, Moch Alonso, Sri Winarti, and Sri Winarsih, the agency’s head, Dwijo Prawito, said. The majority of the damaged houses were located in Sidokepung village, he added.
The homes of several residents of Entalsewu, Tanjungsari, and Jati villages were also damaged by the strong winds. The falling building materials reportedly injured three persons—Alonso, Winarti, and Winarsih, he said.
The extreme weather also toppled several trees in Entalsewu village, wounding one resident, named M. Zainul.
This month, incessant rainfall also triggered flooding and landslides in certain other areas of East Java province.
In Sendang sub-district, Tulungagung district, debris from landslides being cleared by locals on Sunday killed three residents in Nyawangan village.
According to the village’s head, Yoko Dwi Mukarom, two other villagers survived the incident, but sustained injuries.
The debris flow occurred abruptly when several villagers were clearing landslide materials covering a section of the village’s road around 4 p.m. local time.
Five working residents, who happened to be under a hillside, could not avoid the falling landslide materials. As a result, they were buried, he said.
In Trenggalek district, flooding and landslides recently hit certain parts of 12 sub-districts, damaging roads, bridges, and houses.
The Trenggalek Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported 94 affected areas, which included areas in the sub-districts of Trenggalek, Pogalan, Karangan, Gandusari, Kampak, and Panggul.
The flash floods and landslides that occurred following the incessant downpour on October 8 affected residents’ activities in disaster zones owing to damaged infrastructure facilities and homes.
The floods that inundated certain areas of the sub-districts of Trenggalek, Pogalan, Karangan, Gandusari, Kampak, and Panggul also caused major damage to a bridge in Kelutan village.
Besides East Java, several parts of Indonesia are prone to natural disasters. On October 8, for instance, floods inundated certain parts of six sub-districts in East Aceh province, forcing 2,436 residents to flee to safer places.
Most of the flood victims took refuge in village centers, buildings for religious rituals (meunasah), mosques, and traditional Islamic schools (dayah), according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
Source: Antara News