12 dead after back-to-back landslides strike Indonesian village
By
Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jan 12, 2021 12:34 PM EDT
After a landslide caused by heavy rain struck the town of Cihanjuang on Jan. 9, a second hit while rescue teams were searching for missing people.
The town of Cihanjuang in Indonesia was struck by a double tragedy on Saturday, Jan. 9, after back-to-back landslides took the lives of 13 people and has left dozens still not accounted for.
Cihanjuang, located on Java, was struck by the first landslide of the day at 4 p.m., local time. The second occurred just three and a half hours later at 7:30 p.m. and left rescuers buried by the earth as they searched for any survivors.
"The first landslide was triggered by high rainfall and unstable soil conditions. The subsequent landslide occurred while officers were still evacuating victims around the first landslide area," disaster agency spokesman Raditya Jati said, The BBC reported.
An image of Cihanjuang on Jan. 10 shows how the village was affected by the two landslides that struck back-to-back the day before. (Photo/@BNPB_Indonesia)
The New York Times reported that the head of a local disaster relief agency and an Indonesian Army captain were among the people killed in the second landslide as they worked to rescue survivors of the first landslide. A six-year-old boy was also killed.
According to the news outlet, the landslides also destroyed a bridge and barricaded multiple roadways in Cihanjuang that required heavy machinery to clear. Many buildings were also destroyed from the landslide.
“The Karangkobar region of central Java has been in an unusually wet weather pattern for the past week, having picked up double or more of their normal rainfall," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Bowers said. "Repeated, torrential downpours in these narrow, mountain valleys, are particularly susceptible to flash flooding and mudslides.”
An image of Cihanjuang on Jan. 10 shows buildings that were destroyed from the back-to-back landslides that struck just one day prior. (Photo/@BNPB_Indonesia)
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Bowers compared the earth during a landslide to a wet sponge, and explained that it can only absorb so much water from the torrential downpours that plagued the region before the earth gets too heavy and begins to move.
"For a few seconds the sponge can absorb the water while getting heavier," he explained. "But it quickly reaches the point where it it saturated and not only does all the additional water simply run through it but the weight of sponge makes it more likely to move if it's not on a level surface."
He said the affects of too much water in the soil can lead to "devastating results."
"Unfortunately the rainy pattern is likely to continue for at least the next several days," Bowers said, "not only hampering rescue efforts but threatening to trigger more landslides."
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News / Weather News
12 dead after back-to-back landslides strike Indonesian village
By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jan 12, 2021 12:34 PM EDT
After a landslide caused by heavy rain struck the town of Cihanjuang on Jan. 9, a second hit while rescue teams were searching for missing people.
The town of Cihanjuang in Indonesia was struck by a double tragedy on Saturday, Jan. 9, after back-to-back landslides took the lives of 13 people and has left dozens still not accounted for.
Cihanjuang, located on Java, was struck by the first landslide of the day at 4 p.m., local time. The second occurred just three and a half hours later at 7:30 p.m. and left rescuers buried by the earth as they searched for any survivors.
"The first landslide was triggered by high rainfall and unstable soil conditions. The subsequent landslide occurred while officers were still evacuating victims around the first landslide area," disaster agency spokesman Raditya Jati said, The BBC reported.
An image of Cihanjuang on Jan. 10 shows how the village was affected by the two landslides that struck back-to-back the day before. (Photo/@BNPB_Indonesia)
The New York Times reported that the head of a local disaster relief agency and an Indonesian Army captain were among the people killed in the second landslide as they worked to rescue survivors of the first landslide. A six-year-old boy was also killed.
According to the news outlet, the landslides also destroyed a bridge and barricaded multiple roadways in Cihanjuang that required heavy machinery to clear. Many buildings were also destroyed from the landslide.
“The Karangkobar region of central Java has been in an unusually wet weather pattern for the past week, having picked up double or more of their normal rainfall," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Bowers said. "Repeated, torrential downpours in these narrow, mountain valleys, are particularly susceptible to flash flooding and mudslides.”
An image of Cihanjuang on Jan. 10 shows buildings that were destroyed from the back-to-back landslides that struck just one day prior. (Photo/@BNPB_Indonesia)
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Bowers compared the earth during a landslide to a wet sponge, and explained that it can only absorb so much water from the torrential downpours that plagued the region before the earth gets too heavy and begins to move.
"For a few seconds the sponge can absorb the water while getting heavier," he explained. "But it quickly reaches the point where it it saturated and not only does all the additional water simply run through it but the weight of sponge makes it more likely to move if it's not on a level surface."
He said the affects of too much water in the soil can lead to "devastating results."
"Unfortunately the rainy pattern is likely to continue for at least the next several days," Bowers said, "not only hampering rescue efforts but threatening to trigger more landslides."
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