Deadly landslides, flash floods hit Indonesia’s Java island
Torrential rains since last week caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through more than 170 villages in the Sukabumi district of West Java province, as mud, rocks and trees tumbled down mountainside hamlets, Lieutenant Colonel Yudi Hariyanto, who heads a rescue command post in Sukabumi, said on Monday.
Landslides, flash floods and strong winds devastated 172 villages and forced more than 3, 000 people to flee to temporary government shelters, Hariyanto said. Nearly 1, 000 people have been warned to leave because more than 400 homes are in danger of being damaged by extreme weather.
The disasters also destroyed 31 bridges, 81 roads and 539 hectares (1, 332 acres) of rice fields, while 1, 170 houses were flooded up to the roof.
More than 3,300 other homes and buildings have been impacted by extreme weather, according to the regional disaster management agency.
On Monday, rescue workers pulled out 10 bodies in the worst-hit villages of Tegalbuleud, Simpenan and Ciemas, including three children, and rescuers are searching for two villagers who are reportedly still missing, Hariyanto said.
Videos from social media sites showed flash floods in Sukabumi that swept away almost everything that crossed their path, including cars, motorcycles, buffaloes, and cows.
As soldiers, police, and rescue workers pulled mud-caked bodies from a devastated village, the search and rescue agency’s footage from the streets of West Java turned into murky brown rivers and villages covered in thick mud, rocks, and uprooted trees.
State meteorologists have identified three tropical cyclone systems that could cause significant rainfall in the archipelago of 17, 000 islands.
Areas in western and eastern Indonesia are expected to experience significant rainfall and high waves over the coming days due to extreme weather.
Source: Aljazeera
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