In January 24, 2026, heavy monsoon-related rainfall triggered a massive landslide in West Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia, burying dozens of homes and causing widespread destruction. At least 55 fatalities were confirmed and many others were reported missing, making the West Bandung landslide one of the deadliest geohazard events in Southeast Asia in early 2026. Search and rescue operations deployed thousands of personnel amid challenging conditions as emergency response teams worked to recover victims and assist affected communities.
On January 24, 2026, prolonged and intense rainfall over West Bandung Regency saturated hillslopes above the village of Pasirlangu, causing a sudden collapse of soil, rocks and debris down the slopes of Mount Burangrang into residential areas. The landslide — estimated to extend for over 2 km — buried at least 30 homes beneath meters of mud and rubble, trapping households and cutting off access to key roads. Rescuers from Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), assisted by military units and local volunteers, mobilized more than 2,100 personnel, along with excavators, drones and water pumps to search for survivors under extremely difficult conditions. In some places, mud depths reached up to 8 meters, complicating the search and recovery efforts. By late January, 55 bodies had been recovered, and approximately 25 people were still reported missing, with many residents feared buried under the avalanche of earth. Local authorities sent emergency relief supplies — including tents, blankets, food packages and logistical support — to shelters hosting displaced families, while disaster officials continued efforts to locate missing persons. The landslide was attributed primarily to heavy rainfall that had persisted in West Java throughout January, exacerbated by land-use changes and potentially unstable slopes in the mountainous terrain near Mount Burangrang. The scale and sudden onset of the event underscored the vulnerabilities of hillside communities during monsoon months, prompting calls for enhanced geohazard monitoring and early warning systems in vulnerable regions.
Sources:
The Jakarta Post
Provided by the IKCEST Disaster Risk Reduction Knowledge Service System
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