"The landslide occurred amid the downpour that lashed the village, but no one fell victim to the catastrophe," Pegasing Police Chief 2nd Inspector Denny stated in Takengon, the capital of Central Aceh District, on Wednesday.
Despite no fatalities, the affected families fled their homes to stay temporarily with their neighbors, he remarked, adding that the landslide had caused material losses reaching around Rp300 million.
The landslide materials came from a project of sand and gravel quarries (Galian C) that fell and damaged the four houses. The 40-meter-long pile of debris also buried a road section, he said.
As a result, the Takengon-Isaq road section got disrupted. However, traffic flow resumed to normal after the Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD)-Central Aceh Office deployed a backhoe to clean the debris, he stated.
Several parts of Indonesia are prone to natural disasters. On October 8, 2022, for instance, floods inundated parts of six sub-districts in East Aceh District, forcing 2,436 residents to flee to safer places.
Most of the flood victims took refuge in village centers, buildings for religious rituals (meunasah), mosques, and traditional Islamic schools (dayah), according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
The floods continued to spread. In Aceh Tamiang District, students of 47 elementary schools and 20 junior high schools had to stay homebound due to floodwaters inundating their schools and hindering road access to them.
"According to data issued by the district education office, flooding has inundated 67 school buildings," Aceh Tamiang district spokesperson Agusliayana Devita stated on November 5, 2022.
As a result, learning activities in the affected schools had been suspended until further notice, she remarked, adding that the homes of several students had also been flooded.
Meanwhile, Head of the Aceh Tamiang Education Office Kairuddin said he had allowed the affected schools to suspend learning activities due to the impact of the catastrophe that forced locals to seek refuge elsewhere.
"The permission (for temporarily suspending teaching and learning activities) is being given if the schools are inundated or people must take refuge. However, we have not issued any instruction for a holiday," he remarked.
In response to the flooding, which was triggered by the recent downpour and the river overflowing, Aceh Tamiang District Head Mursil said he had declared a disaster emergency status that would remain effective for 14 days from October 30, 2022.
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Translator: M Ifdhal, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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