22-2-2024 (JAKARTA) Indonesia experienced its first-ever large-scale tornado, causing significant damage to buildings and injuring at least 33 people in the town of Sumedang, located in West Java province. The unprecedented weather event has prompted government officials to launch an investigation into the incident.
Following the powerful winds that swept through Sumedang on February 21, the country’s disaster mitigation agency reported that the injured individuals sustained minor injuries. The tornado’s intensity and scale were unlike anything previously recorded in Indonesia, where only smaller tornadoes known as “angin puting beliung” have been documented.
Erma Yulihastin, a climatologist from the government research body BRIN, took to social media to express the agency’s intention to reconstruct and investigate the tornado. Yulihastin noted that the tornado resembled the violent winds commonly observed in the northern hemisphere.
Eyewitness videos captured the destructive force of the tornado as it tore through the town. In one footage, the swirling winds ripped off the roofs of a factory, while another video showed trees violently shaking along the main street of Sumedang. Additionally, a convenience store’s front panel collapsed, causing panic among residents who sought shelter.
One Sumedang resident, Kay Tiara, recounted the harrowing experience of witnessing the tornado. She described how her father, sitting on their terrace, witnessed plastic objects being flung and twisted by the strong wind. Shortly after, the powerful gusts approached their house, resulting in the roof being torn off. Tiara and her family sought refuge inside their home to protect themselves from the destructive force of the tornado.
Indonesia’s first large-scale tornado has raised concerns and prompted officials to initiate an investigation into the phenomenon.
Formation of the tornado that hit Jatinangor, Sumedang Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia ????????
| 21 February 2024 |#Tornado #Indonesia #Jatinangor #angintopan pic.twitter.com/XrNxbiN8jJ— Disaster Tracker (@DisasterTrackHQ) February 21, 2024
