JAKARTA LIFE'S STYLE

At least 70 people are feared dead in a remote, mountainous part of Bandung district after torrential rains triggered a landslide on Tuesday morning, an official at Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said.

“Temporary data shows that some 70 people are buried in a tea plantation area in Pasir Jambu subdistrict,” said Wisnu Wijaya, director of disaster-risk reduction at the agency, also known as BNPB.

Wisnu told the Jakarta Globe that the landslide, which occurred at around 8 a.m., buried about 50 houses in the area.

A BNPB team, including personnel from the Ministry of Health, left Jakarta late on Tuesday afternoon and was expected to have arrived last night.

Vice President Boediono is expected to visit the area today.

“Communication in the area is cut off due to the landslide as well as the road access,” Wisnu said. “So far we are only relying on information from local radio stations and our command post.”

Agence France-Presse, quoting El Shinta radio, said five people have been found dead and 72 were missing, including 47 in the field, 15 at the office and 10 at a tea factory.

BNPB spokesman Priyadi Kardono said newly unstable soil was to blame for the landslide at the tea plantation, where ground cover usually holds the soil intact.

“This is due to last year’s earthquake that struck West Java. The soil has become more vulnerable than before,” Priyadi said.

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck West Java on Sept. 2, killing at least 73 people. The quake damaged an estimated 86,000 buildings in West Java and Central Java.

West Java’s Tasikmalaya and Cianjur were the worst-hit districts, with about 25,000 people displaced, according to BNPB figures.
Bandung has been pounded by rain over the past few weeks, causing severe flooding and forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.

Continuous heavy rain has caused the Citarum River to overflow, submerging homes, mosques, factories, schools and other public facilities in the district(thejakartaglobe)

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