40.9 Million Residents Live in Landslide-Prone Areas

Jakarta, March 30 (ANTARA Lampung) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) revealed that 40.9 million or around 17.2 percent of Indonesian citizens are living in landslide-prone areas.

Head of Data and Information Center of BNPB Sutopo Purwo Nugroho noted here in a statement received on Monday that the landslide disaster mitigation efforts were still minimum, but during the rainy season, the people living in susceptible areas face medium to high risk of landslides.

"In fact, in 2014, landslides became the most deadly disaster causing 408 deaths, displacing 79,341 residents, and damaging 5,814 houses," Nugroho pointed out.

Some of the 40.9 million residents cannot escape and protect themselves from the landslides as 4.28 million of them are toddlers, 323 thousand are disabled people, and 3.2 million are elderly.

West, Central, and East Java are the three areas most prone to landslide disasters.

Wonogiri, Bogor, Wonosobo, Bandung, Garut, Banyumas, Semarang, Sukabumi, Cilacap, Cianjur, Temanggung, Ponorogo, Kebumen, and Purbalingga are some of the districts mapped by the agency as being prone to landslides.

The map of landslide-prone areas has been distributed to the local administrations.

"However, the map had yet to be fully utilized while creating the regional spatial plan," Nugroho said.

It is impossible to install landslide early warning system in every region in Indonesia. It will need hundreds of thousands of units and will be very expensive, Nugroho noted.

"The key is proper spatial planning," he said.

Previously, on Saturday (March 28), a landslide destroyed six houses and killed 12 people in Cireungas sub-district, Sukabumi District, West Java Province.

The landslide was triggered by incessant heavy rains that had occurred since Saturday.

A landslide triggered by rains also hit Jaraksari village in Wonosobo District, Central Java, killing a woman, Laila Musbechi (31).