"Please, take care of all those affected by the disaster, including those losing their lives," Harkat Jaya Village Head Soleh quoted the message that President Jokowi delivered to him while handing over the relief fund to him during his visit to the village area.
The money and relief aid packages will be distributed to the Harkat Jaya villagers affected by the landslide, especially the families, who lost their near and dear ones to the catastrophe, he remarked.
In a bid to help villagers whose houses were destroyed or prone to the threats of landslides in future, President Jokowi had urged him to coordinate with Bogor District Head Ade Yasin to relocate them to a safer area.
The president and his entourage boarded a car to visit the village. During his visit, Jokowi observed the landslide-affected areas, including a road section connecting Pasir Matang to Cisarua Villages.
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Owing to the landslide that struck the village on January 1, over four thousand villagers sought refuge in safer places. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) recorded that 776 buildings had incurred damage.
In fact, President Jokowi had attempted to visit Sukajaya Sub-district to observe the real condition of its areas recently swamped by the landslide on Sunday, but the helicopter he had boarded was unable to land owing to bad weather.
In his message, President Jokowi ordered the Indonesian military (TNI), related ministry, and National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Sunday to restore an access road in Sukajaya Sub-district's areas being crippled by a landslide.
"Mr President has instructed us to undertake an immediate endeavor to restore road access to the isolated villages, so that humanitarian aid packages can be distributed to those in need there," BNPB Head Doni Monardo stated.
Harkat Jaya Village in Sukajaya Sub-district, Bogor District, is one of the areas in West Java Province that bore the maximum brunt of this early January's catastrophe.
According to BNPB's spokesman, Agus Wibowo, flash floods and landslides swamped a wide range of areas in various sub-districts in the provinces of Jakarta, West Jakarta, and Banten.
The flash floods, caused by high-intensity rainfall in early January, submerged several areas of 18 sub-districts in Bekasi District, 17 sub-districts in Jakarta, and 13 sub-districts in Bogor District and Tangerang City respectively.
The disaster also affected 12 sub-districts in Bekasi City; 11 sub-districts in Depok City; and six sub-districts in Lebak District, Bogor City, and Tangerang Selatan City respectively, Wibowo stated.
Consequently, floodwaters, submerging houses, led to the forced displacement of 149,537 residents of Bekasi City in West Java Province. They were accommodated at 97 temporary shelters, while 11,474 Jakartans also took refuge and stayed at 66 temporary shelters.
The catastrophe had also killed at least 60 people and caused two others to go missing, Wibowo added.
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Translator: M Fikri S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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