REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Puncak Road was closed after landslides hit its several parts connecting popular tourist areas to Bogor City following heavy rains lashing the hilly areas for several hours, Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) stated here, Monday. The landslide-hit roads were closed from 9:15 a.m. local time, including in the area of Polingga, to enable authorized officers to handle the situation, he remarked.
"Prolonged heavy rains lashing the Puncak areas in Bogor District, West Java, have caused landslides on Monday morning," the agency's spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho informed reporters.
Officials of Bogor Regency BPBD try to clear the landslide material covering the main route of Puncak Bogor, West Java, Monday (Feb 5).
As a result, people keen on going to Puncak from Jakarta may opt for Sukabumi as an alternative route, while those looking to visit Cianjur from Jakarta can travel through the Jonggol route in Bogor District.
Nugroho explained that the landslides had affected traffic in Attaawun, Widuri, Grand Hill, and Riung Gunung. Several electricity poles and trees were uprooted, but there were no reports of any casualties.
Officials from joint team pour water during a landslide evacuation on Puncak Main Road, Bogor, West Java, Monday (Feb 5).
The Bogor Disaster Mitigation Agency's workers, assisted by personnel from the Indonesian military, police, National Search and Rescue Agency of the Republic of Indonesia, local government officials, and community members, were present at the disaster site.
The Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) has forecast rains to continue until Monday afternoon, as the potential for rainfall in the Greater Jakarta areas was still high.
As of Sunday (Feb 4), the BMKG had recorded that the precipitation rate in the Greater Jakarta areas had reached 152 millimeters per day. It was classified as extreme rain that can trigger landslides and increase the water level of Ciliwung River.
Meanwhile, the BMKG of Jatiwangi Majalengka Station in West Java Province has urged locals living in disaster-prone areas to remain on alert for natural disasters that may occur during the peak of the rainy season.
"People living in the disaster-prone areas should remain alert," Ahmad Faa Iziyn of BMKG's Weather Forecast Unit noted.
Rainfall was expected to reach 300 millimeters per month in February, and it could be heavy and protracted, with thunderstorm, he noted, adding that in such a situation, the people need to be on alert for whirlwinds that could uproot trees.
Rainfall is expected to peak in February in areas of West Java Province that may experience the peak of the rainy season including the districts of Cirebon, Indramayu, Majalengka, and Kuningan.
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