CISARUA, Indonesia, Jan. 26 – A newborn’s persistent cries inadvertently saved a family from a devastating landslide in West Java province early Saturday morning, alerting them to danger just as their village began to crumble.
Landslide Survival: Infant’s Cries Warn Family of Imminent Danger
A young Indonesian couple credits their 30-day-old daughter’s unusual restlessness with giving them crucial moments to escape a landslide that buried their home and surrounding areas.
- A landslide triggered by heavy rainfall struck Pasir Kuda and Pasir Kuning villages in West Bandung Regency.
- Sahra Suniarti and Muhammad Arif,along with their daughter and 12 relatives,evacuated moments before their home was engulfed.
- As of Monday, authorities had recovered 29 bodies, with search efforts ongoing amid unstable terrain.
- The area has seen increasing deforestation, perhaps contributing to the landslide’s severity.
Sahra Suniarti, 19, and her husband, Muhammad arif, were awakened by their 30-day-old daughter’s incessant crying around 3 a.m. Initially dismissing it as a typical newborn fuss, Sahra soon noticed the ground trembling and a strange movement from higher ground, initially about 10 centimeters deep, but rapidly increasing and spreading toward homes.Recognizing the immediate threat, he alerted relatives and neighbors, urging them to evacuate. The family then rushed to escape, carefully passing the baby between arms to avoid slips in the darkness.
Minutes later, the hillside collapsed. Earth,rocks,and uprooted trees cascaded down onto pasir Kuda and the neighboring Pasir Kuning village,burying homes under meters of debris. Sahra’s house was submerged under an estimated six meters of soil.
local authorities attributed the landslide to two consecutive nights of heavy rainfall that saturated the terrain, causing slope failure.Many residents were asleep when the disaster struck.
Sahra and her family escaped unharmed. She believes her daughter’s unusual behavior was instrumental in their survival.”Usually she sleeps well,” Sahra saeid days later at an evacuation shelter set up at the village hall. “That night,she didn’t sleep at all.”
Search and rescue operations continued following the landslide.As of Monday at 1 p.m. local time,authorities had recovered four additional bodies,bringing the total to 29. Seventeen victims had been identified and returned to their families.
More than 250 personnel from the National Search and Rescue agency, along with the military, police, and volunteers, are deployed across five search sectors.Helicopters, drones, sniffer dogs, and heavy equipment are being utilized, but progress is hampered by unstable terrain and deep mud, exceeding five meters in some areas.
The local government has declared a 14-day emergency response period, with search operations to be evaluated after seven days. As rain clouds gathered, Sahra sat quietly at the shelter, holding her now-sleeping daughter. “I am grateful,” she said softly. “My house is gone, but my family is alive.”
