One of the things that kind of gets annoying when documenting a tornado in another country

[Alvaro ivan]

Earlier on February 21st of this year, a strong tornado struck Jatinangor, Sumedang and portions of Rancaekek, Bandung (both in West Java) on afternoon hours. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported despite of the tornado itself occurring over a densely populated area. BRIN later considered this particular event as the "first tornado to ever hit Indonesia" (which is incorrect since it's discovered that Indonesia had tornadoes during the Dutch Occupations), however BMKG stated that the event "was not a tornado" but rather, they referred it as "puting beliung" which by the way, it's an Indonesian translation for the word "tornado". BMKG insisted on using that term since using the term "tornado" could led up to a mass panic. Another BMKG employee claimed that tornadoes never formed in Indonesia due to "the climate"

https://www.ums.ac.id/en/news/global-pulse/the-so-called-tornado-twisted-in-indonesia-is-it-real-

BMKG Says Raging Winds in Rancaekek Not Tornado

BMKG asserted that the raging powerful wind in Rancaekek, Bandung, and its surroundings on Feb. 21 was not a tornado.

en.tempo.co

 

[JamesCaruso]

The article is quite convoluted or, dare I say, nonsensical. The distinction between a tornado and a “puting beliung” is not at all clear, which I know is exactly your point. I imagine the underlying intent may be similar to our distinction between a landspout and a tornado, even though a landspout is still technically a tornado.

The bullet-point list with the characteristics of a puting beliung makes no sense. And these two sections of the article describing each are almost identical, contradicting the claim that there is any difference between them:

The UMS Geography lecturer elaborated on the dynamics of tornado formation, stating, “When warm, moist air collides with cold air, the lighter warm air ascends. As the warm air rises, it prompts the cold air to take its place, resulting in a robust vertical movement. Tornadoes gain strength from additional factors like powerful horizontal winds or vigorous air loops.”​

According to Yuli, puting beliung like the one in Sidoarjo is formed due to extreme differences in temperature and humidity in the atmosphere. When warm and humid air encounters cold air, the lighter, warm air rises, causing the cold air to move down and replace it.​

Yuli explains that the movement of the air mass generates a strong vertical motion. “If this condition is further intensified by other factors, such as strong horizontal winds or existing air loops, it can create puting beliung,” she stated.​

The graphical table showing the difference makes a little more sense, except it seems they mixed up the speeds, showing the puting beliung as higher.

Goes to show that even supposed “experts” can be way out of their league when dealing with phenomenon that are not commonly encountered in a particular region. Also shows how an agenda (as you said, to avoid panic) can bias a supposedly scientific article.

Interesting, thanks for sharing!

 

[Alvaro ivan]

You're welcome

By the way, from what i've heard. Most of the folks in Indonesia believes that tornadoes can't form in there due to mountains and the climate.