REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BENGKULU -- As many as 20 locations in Bengkulu were hit by landslides over the last week, according to the Bengkulu Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD).
"We recorded landslides in more than 20 locations in nine districts," Head of the Bengkulu BPBD, Kolendri, said here on Monday.
The nine landslide-affected districts were North Bengkulu, Mukomuko, Seluma, Central Bengkulu, Kepahiang, Rejanglebong, Lebong, South Bengkulu, and Kaur.
Of these districts, Seluma and Rejanglebong were the worst hit by the landslides.
The disasters claimed the lives of four residents in two villages in Rejanglebong district in Bengkulu province on Sunday.
Three were killed by a landslide in Tanjung Agung village and another in Lubuk Alai village, Sindang Beliti sub-district, Kolendri revealed.
Incessant downpours in Bengkulu since Sunday triggered the landslides, he noted.
The three victims in Tanjung Agung village---a father, mother and child---were a family.
They resided in their coffee plantation located near the hill where the landslide occurred.
A BPBD team is currently assessing the damage caused by the landslides in the two villages.
In addition, several provinces are experiencing flooding and landslides at present, with the rainy season reaching its peak in February.
The National Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had predicted that heavy rains were likely to occur in January and February in Central Java's northern coastal areas, western and southern Banten, Aceh, South Sulawesi, Gorontalo, North Sulawesi, Papua, and West Papua.
As much as 99 percent of the natural disasters that had hit Indonesia in 2014 were hydro-meteorological in nature. They included floods, landslides, and whirlwinds.
The BNPB recently released data, according to which 496 instances of whirlwinds, 458 floods, and 413 landslides had struck Indonesia last year.
The disasters claimed the lives of 355 people, forced 1.7 million to be evacuated, and destroyed 25 thousand homes.
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