Release date
At least 10 people have been killed and six others are missing after heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, police said Wednesday.
Rescue teams are struggling to reach affected areas in six provinces in North Sumatra province after monsoon rains over the past week caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing villages apart in the hills, toppling mud, rocks and trees and causing destruction, the national police said in a statement.
By Wednesday, rescue workers had recovered at least five bodies and three injured people in the worst-hit city of Sibolga. The search continues for four other villagers who are reported missing, the statement said.
In the neighboring central Tapanuli district, a landslide hit several homes, killing at least four family members, and flooding submerged nearly 2,000 homes and buildings.
Floods and landslides uprooted trees, killing one villager and injuring another in South Tapanuri district.
Videos circulating on social media showed water pouring down roofs as panicked residents scrambled for safety. Flash flooding rapidly increased in some areas, turning streets into violent torrents carrying tree trunks and debris.
Siborga police chief Eddy Ingunta said emergency evacuation shelters had been set up and authorities called on residents in high-risk areas to evacuate immediately, warning that continued rain could trigger more landslides and cause further devastation.
At least six landslides hit the hilly city, destroying 17 homes and cafes.
“Bad weather and landslides hampered rescue efforts,” Ingunta said, adding that access remained limited as rescue teams battled the harsh conditions.
Tuesday’s disaster occurred on the same day that the National Disaster Mitigation Agency declared the official end of a 10-day relief operation in two areas on Indonesia’s main island of Java.
More than 1,000 rescue workers have been dispatched to search for people buried in landslides caused by heavy rains that killed 38 people in Central Java’s Cilacap and Banjar Negara districts.
At least two people were still missing in Cilacap and 11 people in Banjar Negara when the operation ended, the agency said, as unstable ground, bad weather, and the depth and extent of the reclaimed material posed high safety risks to rescue teams and residents.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,500 islands, has millions of people living near mountainous areas and fertile floodplains, where seasonal heavy rains from around October to March frequently cause flooding and landslides.
Additional sources of information • AP