Landslides triggered by heavy rains have been hitting a number of locations in Ambon, Maluku province, since Friday but there were no fatalities, ANTARA reported. In the Tantui area, a landslide damaged a house, while in Sudirman street, the fence of the Maluku Police's office was broken by a landslide. Three houses in the Kanawa area were inundated by mud carrying tree branches that had come from a nearby mountain slope. Following incessant downpours, tens of houses in Batumerah village were inundated by 30-centimeter-deep flood water, forcing local residents to move their belongings to higher grounds. Landslides and floods regularly hit Ambon during the rainy season, and therefore Ambon Mayor Jopi Papilaja has banned house construction on hill slopes which are prone to landslides.
