"As of 11 p.m. local time (December 17), the rescue team had carried out an assessment, coordination, and search for victims, but the results were still nil," Chief of the Bandung SAR Office Jumaril said here on Sunday.
The two missing people were a 16-year-old teenager and a 40-year-old woman, residents of Babakan Kananga Hamlet. The muddy flood hit the village on Saturday (December 17) at around 6 p.m. local time.
Following the incident, the SAR Team dispatched an additional team on Saturday at 11:15 p.m. to the search location.
Meanwhile, Bandung SAR Office's search and rescue analyst Joshua Banjarnahor said the search was continued on Sunday after the team conducted the routine morning roll call.
According to him, the two missing people were presumed to be carried away by the current to a tributary of the Citarik River in the Linggar Village, Rancaekek, Bandung District.
"The initial search (will expand to) a distance of five kilometers," Banjarnahor said.
Meanwhile, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has recommended local governments in West Java whose regions, including Sumedang, are prone to hydrometeorological disasters such as floods, flash floods, and landslides, to anticipate and carry out mitigation efforts, especially during the rainy season.
In January 2021, a landslide also hit Cimanggung Sub-district, Sumedang, killing 13 people.
West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil asked communities and construction companies to pay attention to disaster-prone locations in building settlements, in addition to building disaster-resilient buildings.
"Not all land is suitable for living and cannot be forced (to be built for settlements). This is an example of land that is prone to (disasters)," Kamil said while reviewing the landslide-impacted area in Sumedang, Sunday (January 10, 2021).
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Translator: Bagus R, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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