Ciwidey-West Java landslide, 23 February 2010

A landslide buried a village in West Java early on Tuesday, 23 February 2010 around 7am. The site located in a tea plantation village of Ciwidey, about 90km south of Bandung, West Java and 150 km southeast of the capital, Jakarta. At least 45 people were killed, 21 people were confirmed died while 24 others still buried under the debris, houses occupied by 35 families working in the tea plantation buried by the landslide.

Weathered layers of lava, tuff and andesitic breccias made up the lithology of the area. Morphology of the area in general are hilly and steep. The area were included in the landslide hazard map of West Java province as high to medium risk zone. Heavy rain in the area during the week prior to landslide possibly was the main triggering factors beside the morphology and the lithology of the area.

The government investigates whether the land clearing practices by one of a tea plantation company at the 740-acre hillside were to blame, while the company owner blames the September 7.0 earthquake cause the cracks on the foothills that weakening the hillside.

Base Map and Initial Assessment

Picture showing the village before landslide (left) and after landslide (right). (Indonesian Geology Agency)

Villagers walk at a neighborhood hit by a landslide in Ciwidey district, West Java, Indonesia, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. Days of heavy rain prompted the landslide Tuesday afternoon at the mountainous tea plantation destroying scores of homes. (AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah)