Tornado damages at least 340 houses in West Java, Indonesia

A damaging tornado hit three villages in the South Tambun District of Bekasi Regency, West Java, Indonesia at around 08:00 UTC (13:00 LT) on March 1, 2023, damaging at least 339 homes and destroying 1. The worst affected was Sumberjaya village.

According to Junaefi, the sub-district head of South Tambun, 349 homes suffered minor to severe damage while 1 collapsed.

The three affected villages are Mangunjaya, Sumberjaya, and Tridayasakti. 102 houses were damaged in Mangunjaya, and 74 houses in Tridayasakti. The local government continues to receive data on damaged houses.

“There were no injuries or fatalities as a result of the disaster,” Junaefi said.

The Bekasi Regency Government in collaboration with the National Zakat Amil Agency (Baznas) has tried to repair houses that were badly damaged, while houses that were slightly damaged were repaired by local residents independently.

Junaefi emphasized that the government is doing everything possible to restore normalcy in the region and has asked for cooperation from all parties involved.

Tornadoes are not very common in Indonesia, and they are relatively rare in the West Java region.

References:

¹ Tornado Destroys 340 Houses in Bekasi’s South Tambun – Tempo – March 2, 2023

² Hundreds of Residents’ Houses in Bekasi Damaged by the Tornado, Confirmed There Are No Victims – Ruetir – March 1, 2023