Three people have died in a landslide in South Sulawesi on Sunday 5 April 2020, according to the Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana. The landslide destroyed a house in the village of Randanbatu in South Makale District, early in the morning, killing all three people inside. The victims have been identified as Bottong, 80, Rita, 40, and Yen, 12, all of whom are believed to have been members of the same family. The incident happened after two days of heavy rain in the area, associated with the onset of the summer monsoon. Landslides
are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess
pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments,
allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides
are caused by heavy rainfall.
A landslide which hit the village of Randanbatu in South Sulawesi on Sunday 5 April 2020, killing three members of the same family. Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana.
Monsoons are tropical sea breezes triggered by heating of the land during the warmer part of the year (summer). Both the land and sea are warmed by the Sun, but the land has a lower ability to absorb heat, radiating it back so that the air above landmasses becomes significantly warmer than that over the sea, causing the air above the land to rise and drawing in water from over the sea; since this has also been warmed it carries a high evaporated water content, and brings with it heavy rainfall. In the tropical dry season the situation is reversed, as the air over the land cools more rapidly with the seasons, leading to warmer air over the sea, and thus breezes moving from the shore to the sea (where air is rising more rapidly) and a drying of the climate.
Diagrammatic representation of wind and rainfall patterns in a tropical monsoon climate. Geosciences/University of Arizona.
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