Those houses belonged to transmigrants, Head of Banjar district`s natural disaster mitigation unit, Sunarto,told ANTARA here Sunday.
"The whirlwind practically destroyed two houses and caused moderate and minor damages to 18 others," he said.
The whirlwind also damaged a house in the village but there were no fatalities in the natural disaster that occurred at about 01.00 AM local time on Sunday, he said.
A house owner named Trimo sustained a minor injury on his head. "He may have been hit by the debris of his damaged house when the whirlwind hit the village," Sunarto said.
He said his men had checked the condition of damaged houses to be then reported to the district government`s secretary, Nasrun Syah.
"The district government will coordinate the distribution of humanitarian aids to the victims," he said.
For villagers whose houses were damaged, he said they temporarily stayed in their relatives or neighbors`.
Over the past year, various parts of Indonesia have been undergoing an extreme weather phenomenon, which partly characterizes with heavy rains and whirlwinds.
As the consequences of the torrential rains and whirlwinds, various vulnerable parts of the country have experienced flash floods and landslides.
On December 29, 2010, a whirlwind also hit Kancilan village, Kembang subdistrict, Jepara district, Central Java, causing damage to 49 houses and six stores.
The whirlwind also damaged a school building and a church, but there were no reports of fatalities, Head of the Kembang subdistrict government`s social welfare office, Nuri Wahyudi, said.
On December 24, 2010, a whirlwind also hit Karangaji village in Kembang subdistrict, damaging 90 houses and a school building.
On December 26, 2010, a whirlwind also hit Srobyong and Karanggandong villages in Kembang subdistrict. A total of 114 houses in the two villages were damaged. (*)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
