LANDSLIDES THREATEN 65 FAMILIES IN W JAVA'S SUKABUMI

Sukabumi, W Java, March 25 (ANTARA) - Sixty five families in the West Java regency of Sukabumi took refuge on Thursday to avoid unpredictable landslides that threatened their houses.

A total 260 people of 65 displaced families were residents of Cikaramat hamlet, Sukamanis village, Kadudampit regency, Head of Sukamanis village Omar S said here Thursday.

The displaced residents were accommodated at an emergency tent built about one kilometer from their houses, he said, adding their houses were located under a 30-meter-high cliff.

At the moment, small landslides had frequently occurred in Sukamanis village, he said.

Omar S said 260 villages whose houses were vulnerable to the unpredictable landslides took refuge for their safety.

"For the time being, we send them to an emergency shelter about one kilometer away from their houses while waiting for completion of a resettlement site," he said.

Far before the landslides threatened the Sukamanis village, local residents had been asked to move to a new settlement area that the Sukabumi regency government had built.

Instead of welcoming the government's goodwill, the villagers were reluctant to leave their home despite frequently minor landslides, he said.

"However, on Wednesday night, they call us for being taken to the temporary shelter because the landslides have threatened their houses," Omar said.

The villagers were so concerned with torrential rains frequently showering the area over the past few days, he said.

At least five villages in Kadudampit sub-district are vulnerable to the unpredictable landlides. They are Sukamanis, Cipetir, Sukamaju, Kadudampit, and Gedepangrango.

Last year, the landslides killed four people of a family in Gede Pangrango village. "We don't want the same thing to happen to us again," he said.

Over the past weeks, torrential rains have been showering various parts of Indonesia, causing floods and landslides in some areas.

On March 20, a landslide hit Cimangu hamlet in Padajaya village, Cikalongkulon sub-district, West Java district of Cianjur, burying four houses.

On March 11, a landslide also hit Ciawitali hamlet, Sukamekar village, Sukanagara sub-district in Cianjur, destroying five houses and killing 10 people.