Indonesia digs out as flooding, landslide death toll hits 20

Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA — Rescue workers in western Indonesia used heavy equipment on Tuesday to dig out from weekend flooding and landslides that have killed at least 20 people, the national disaster agency said.

In North Sumatra, the bodies of five people listed as missing had been pulled from under a mountain of mud and debris, agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

“All victims have been found dead,” he said Tuesday, adding that 10 people in all had been killed in a Karo district landslide.

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Beginning Saturday, heavy rain pounded four districts across northern Sumatra, producing the deadly floods and landslides.

Juspri Nadeak, disaster chief in hardest-hit Karo district, said the discovery of victims not yet reported missing to authorities remained a possibility.

“The landslide area provides access to hot springs, so there’s a possibility that tourists were hit by it,” he told AFP Tuesday.

“We are still cleaning up the mud and debris from the landslide while anticipating the possibility of discovering more victims.”

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In a village in Deli Serdang district, where four people have been found dead and two more were missing, piles of mud, logs and rocks were scattered around the village where a rescue operation was underway.

“The electricity was cut off and there is no cellphone reception, making it difficult for us rescuers to communicate,” Iman Sitorus, a local search and rescue agency spokesman, told AFP.

Authorities also have deployed heavy equipment to clean up the debris, he said.

Indonesia has suffered a string of recent extreme weather events, which experts say are made more likely by climate change.

In May, at least 67 people died after a mixture of ash, sand and pebbles carried down from the eruption of Mount Marapi in West Sumatra washed into residential areas, causing flash floods.

The disaster agency on Monday revised downward its tally to 15 dead and seven missing following an earlier report that listed one more killed.

The death toll climbed to 20 on Tuesday following the discovery of the five bodies in Karo district.

The rest of the victims were found in South Tapanuli, Padang Lawas and Deli Serdang districts.