Death toll from floods and landslides in Indonesia rises to 26

JAKARTA: The death toll from flash floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island has risen to 26, an official said on Monday (March 11), with at least 11 people still missing.

Torrential rains on Thursday caused disaster in West Sumatra province, where rivers overflowed and landslides swept away homes.

“Eleven people are still missing while 26 others have been found dead,” National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement on Monday.

According to Fajar Sukma, an official at West Sumatra’s disaster mitigation agency, 23 people were found dead in the Pesisir Selatan district and six were still missing.

Three other victims were found dead in Padang Pariaman district, which also suffered heavy damage.

Sukma said rescue operations were being hampered due to bad weather and poor electricity.

“Even today it is raining and rescue workers are carrying out rescue operations amidst the rain.

“It is likely that the number of casualties will continue to increase as we update reports,” he said.

Sukma said that by Sunday, rescue workers had managed to open access to the worst-hit areas and distribute aid to the evacuated people, including tents, medicines and urgent food.

The disaster has damaged hundreds of houses, bridges, mosques and other public facilities.

Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season and in some places the problem is exacerbated by deforestation, with prolonged torrential rains causing flooding in some areas of the archipelago nation.

In December, landslides and flooding near Lake Toba in Sumatra swept away dozens of homes and destroyed a hotel, killing at least two people.