Protecting the rescuers – a disastrous double landslide at Cihanjuang in Indonesia and a lucky escape in Italy

I have noted previously that one of the great challenges in the aftermath of major landslide accidents is protecting the rescuers.  In the recent Gjerdrum quick clay landslide the rescue proceeded slowly for this reason – in the immediate aftermath it was considered too risky to deploy rescue staff into an area in which another landslide might occur.

This problem has been brought home in vivid form through a disastrous double landslide in Indonesia on 9 January 2021.  The events occurred in the village of Cihanjuang in West Java. The image below shows the aftermath of the landslide:-

The 9 January 2021 landslide at Cihanjuang in Indonesia. Image from Portal Majalenka from Motor Rescue Indonesia.

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Reports indicate that the first failure happened at 4 pm local time.  Rescue operations were immediately undertaken, and evacuations were underway.  A second landslide then struck the same location a little over three hours later.  This is believed to have buried a number of rescue personnel.

At the time of writing the BBC is reporting that 12 people have been killed.  Reuters is reporting that 18 people were injured.  Unfortunately though the BBC is also reporting that a further 27 people are missing, although there will be considerable uncertainty in this figure.

Protecting the rescuers is a really challenging task, balancing the rapidly diminishing chances of trapped victims being able to survive against the likelihood of further landslides burying the rescue personnel.  Decisions have to be made quickly on the ground, often in poor weather, and with inadequate information about what is happening.  As the many landslide videos that are now available on Youtube illustrate so vividly. Landslides often strike two or more times at the same location in a short period of time.

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Quickslide: a tragedy averted in Italy

Meanwhile, there was a remarkable escape in the Italian town of Bolzano on 5 January 2021 when a rock slope failure demolished a large part of Hotel Eberle, located on the hill of  Santa Maddalena above the town of Bolzano.  Fortunately the hotel was closed due to Covid-19 restrictions, so no-one was killed.  The impact of the landslide was dramatic:-

The landslide that struck Hotel Eberle, located on the hill of Santa Maddalena above the town of Bolzano on 5 January 2021. Image from Il Messaggero.

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The image below, from Tripadvisor, shows the hotel before the landslide.  This was an extremely fortunate escape:-

Hotel Eberle in Bolzano before the landslide. Image from Tripadvisor.