"The cold lava flood that damaged the Kalimujur bridge also destroyed six poles of the Medium-Voltage Air Line," PLN Manager in Jember region Dasih Listyanto noted in a written statement received here, Saturday.
According to Listyanto, the area was hit by torrential rains that caused landslides and was followed by flash floods due to the flow of cold lava from Mount Semeru.
"As a result of this incident, as many as 134 substations supplying 34,783 customers in a number of areas in Pronojiwo and Ampelgading sub-districts were affected," he remarked.
Listyanto stated that his side had immediately deployed 70 joint personnel, four cranes, and nine engineering cars to map out the blackout areas and conduct repairs.
"As of Friday, at 21:46 local time, our personnel have succeeded in restoring 41 substations," Listyanto remarked.
However, 93 substations serving over 23 thousand customers are still affected by the disaster, he pointed out.
Listyanto explained that some problems were encountered during repairs, as the process of normalizing the PLN network took quite a long time. This was caused by the landslides and flooding that cut off road access.
Moreover, he noted that PLN continues to coordinate with sub-district heads and the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) in Lumajang to map a safe location as an effort to expedite the restoration of electricity.
Meanwhile, cold lava floods from Mount Semeru also damaged several bridges, including the bridge connecting Tumpeng Village and Kloposawit Village where access was completely cut off, the Regoyo River Suspension Bridge that was badly damaged, the Kaliputih Limpas Bridge, and the bridge on the border of Lumajang-Malang where access was totally cut off.
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Translator: Zumrotun Solichah, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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