November 17, 2025 | 08:03 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) is modifying the weather to expedite the search for the missing victims of the Cilacap landslide. The search process has experienced obstacles due to continuous rainfall.
BNPB's Deputy for Emergency Response, Major General Budi Irawan, said weather modification began on Sunday, November 16, 2025, involving experts from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on board an monitoring aircraft. 'We hope it will be successful, as it depends on the wind,' he said on Sunday.
According to Budi, BMKG experts will identify the water content in the clouds before seeding. He is convinced that rain will not fall if the wind corresponds to BMKG's predictions.
"If it does rain, it will be very light. But if the wind is beyond the prediction, heavy rain will fall," Budi said.
The Head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Central Java, Bergas Catursasi Penanggungan, stated that the time limitations due to weather have been the main issue since the first day of the search operation. 'Operations can only begin from 06:00 AM to 06:00 PM. Based on the existing evaluations, BNPB is conducting weather modification operations in order to reduce the rain at the location,' he said.
The landslide in Tarukahan and Cibuyut Hamlets, Cibeunying Village, Majenang Sub-district, Cilacap, occurred on Thursday, November 13, around 07:00 PM. According to preliminary data after the incident, the total number of victims reached 46, consisting of 23 survivors, two fatalities, and 21 reported missing.
The landslide damaged 12 houses and threatened 16 other houses in an area of about 6.5 hectares. The landslide material buried settlements and caused a 2-meter deep land subsidence and a 25-meter-long crack. As of the fourth day of the search operation, on Sunday at 01:00 PM, there were still 11 missing victims. Rescuers have found 10 fatalities.
The Governor of Central Java, Ahmad Luthfi, has requested that the coordination of all search and rescue elements be strengthened, especially regarding the weather conditions that often hinder the search process. "We have requested weather modification, and it has been carried out by the BNPB," he said.
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