Heavy rain accompanied by a tornado struck Central Lombok district, West Nusa Tenggara province, damaging dozens of houses on Saturday night (Dec 18) at 9:00 p.m. local time.

“Some of the residents’ houses were either severely or lightly damaged after being swept away by a tornado last night,” Central Lombok Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Head Ridwan Makruf said in Praya on Sunday.

Moreover, the natural disaster also seriously injured two people after being hit by their house ruins. Currently, the injured victims are being treated at a local health post, Makruf added.

Based on BPBD data as of Dec 19, 11:23 a.m. local time, five houses were seriously impaired and a dozen houses were mildly impacted due to the tornado.

BPBD is still calculating the financial losses caused by the disaster. “The data of material losses are still being collected,” he added.

Shortly after receiving information about the disaster, BPBD’s team went down to check the condition of the residents and provided logistical assistance to them. BPBD is still waiting for information about the affected people’s needs.

“The team will re-evaluate what is the most urgent need of the (impacted) community. Temporarily, residents still evacuate in their family’s houses as theirs are damaged,” Makruf explained.

Makruf’s team advised the public to stay alert for  the impact of heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds.

“We advise the community to remain vigilant  for the extreme weather that occurs at the end of December 2021,” he added.

Around one month ago, a tornado  also struck many houses located in Bangkat Parak Village and Kidang Village, Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

Source: Antara News