Two houses in Kotabaru hit by landslides

Kotabaru, S Kalimantan (AntaranewsKalsel) - Two families inhabiting two houses in the village of Hilir Muara, North Pulau Laut Subdistrict, Kotabaru District, South Kalimantan, forced to flee after their homes were hitted by landslides.


"On Tuesday (12/6) at about 10:00 am I heard a loud noise, I think there was a collision, it turns out my home terrace collapsed," said Hamidah (50), one of the owners of the house on Thursday.

Not only the side porch of her house collapsed, the pillars supporting the center of the wooden house at the altitude was also broken.

In the house, she had occupied for more than 30 years, Hamidah lives only with her husband.

Lucky both were outdoors at the time of the incident. With the help of relatives, they then evacuated their goods from the house.

While neighbor, who is also relative, Rohayah (60), was trading in the market when told her house collapsed.

"My brother-in-law was coming, he said you must come home, the house collapsed. why collapsed, I said. Just go home, you see yourself," she told.

The woman who lives alone was rushed home. She could only cry to see the kitchen part of her house tilted almost collapsed.

"Tens of years rain does not happen anything, only this time the disaster hit," she added.

The occupants of the two houses affected by landslides were forced to flee.

Before landslides, rainfall occurred in the North Pulau Laut since 08.00. High rain intensity and unstable soil contents are suspected to be the cause of the disaster.

Immediate security action was done by Kotabaru Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) along with Fire and Rescue Agency, volunteers for Disaster Preparedness, and Saijaan Firefighters Association.

Rohayah's home kitchen building was torn down because its condition was considered unfit to be repaired. While Hamidah's house is above it, if repaired then the burden of the house should be reduced first.

Furthermore, BPBD coordinated with related government agencies to pay more attention to disaster-prone locations.

"This is followed up by reporting to related institutions that this vulnerable location should be considered, maybe we should relocate because it is prone to disaster and if not relocated we must also make a barrier so the land will not move," said Head of Emergency Section of BPBD Kotabaru Syafarudin Gratitude.

The agency has distributed emergency response assistance in the form of logistics materials to the victims affected by the landslide.