The Hill Slid Down Late At Night
The two days of incessant rain in Banjarnegara, Central Java, finally stopped on Friday afternoon two weeks ago. Sinem, 55, seized the opportunity to pluck some taro leaves in the yard of her house in Jemblung hamlet, home to about 300 residents. She planned to cook a favorite dish of her husband, Suhaedi, 58.
The rain had prevented many people from leaving their homes. The freezing air at the foot of Mount Tlagalele pierced the bones. Before becoming a cassava and corn farm in between the albasia plants and the shrubs, the hill's slopes had been a community forest. Tlagalele is located on the right side of the residential areas through which the Karangkoba-Dieng highway cuts.
Clear weather did not last long. After a few hours, the rain returned. As dusk approached, Sinem was still busy in her kitchen. Suhaedi had not yet arrived from the farm near their house. "All of a sudden there was a loud roaring sound," she told Tempo last week.
December 23, 2014
The two days of incessant rain in Banjarnegara, Central Java, finally stopped on Friday afternoon two weeks ago. Sinem, 55, seized the opportunity to pluck some taro leaves in the yard of her house in Jemblung hamlet, home to about 300 residents. She planned to cook a favorite dish of her husband, Suhaedi, 58.
The rain had prevented many people from leaving their homes. The freezing air at the foot of Mount Tlagalele pierced the bones. Before b
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