|
Torrential rains since last week have caused rivers to burst
their banks, tearing through more than 170 villages in Sukabumi
district of West Java province, as mud, rocks and trees tumbled
down mountainside hamlets, said Lt. Col. Yudi Hariyanto, who
heads a rescue command post in Sukabumi.
Landslides, flash floods and strong winds devastated 172
villages and forced more than 3,000 people to flee to temporary
government shelters, Hariyanto said. Authorities have warned
nearly 1,000 people to evacuate as more than 400 houses are
threatened 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. Extreme weather has also damaged more
than 3,300 other houses and buildings, the local Disaster
Management Agency said.
Rescue workers on Monday 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 circulating on social media showed flash floods caused by
heavy downpours in Sukabumi swept away almost everything in
their path, including cars, motorbikes, buffaloes and cows.
Footage released by West Java's Search and Rescue Agency showed
roads that were transformed into murky brown rivers and villages
covered by thick mud, rocks and uprooted trees as soldiers,
police and rescue workers pulled mud-caked bodies from a
devastated hamlet.
Seasonal rain from about October to March frequently causes
flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000
islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or
near fertile flood plains.
Last month, a landslide and flash floods triggered by heavy
downpours hit Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, leaving 20
dead and two missing. A landslide in the region also hit a
tourist bus that killed nine people.
___
Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
