Heavy rains on Sumatra caused floods and landslides, 17 people died

Heavy rains caused flash floods and landslides on the island of Sumatra (Indonesia), killing at least 17 people, UNN reports with reference to Sky News.

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Officials said on Wednesday that six people were missing. Rescuers struggled to reach affected areas in North Sumatra province.

According to police, monsoon rains last week caused rivers to overflow and flood hilly villages, with mud, rocks, and trees crashing down, leaving destruction in their wake.

By Wednesday, rescuers had found at least five bodies and three injured in the hardest-hit city of Sibolga. They are searching for four villagers who went missing, the statement said.

In the neighboring Central Tapanuli district, landslides hit several homes, killing a family of four, and nearly 2,000 homes and buildings were flooded.

Rescuers found seven more bodies in South Tapanuli district after floods and landslides uprooted trees and forced more than 2,800 residents to take shelter in temporary shelters.

Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the national disaster agency, said another 58 people were injured.

According to him, landslides also affected 50 houses in North Tapanuli district and destroyed at least two main bridges in the area.

Videos posted on social media show water pouring from roofs as residents flee in panic.

In some areas, flash floods intensified sharply, turning streets into raging torrents carrying tree trunks and debris.

Sibolga police chief Eddy Inganta said temporary shelters had been set up and authorities urged residents in high-risk areas to evacuate immediately, warning that ongoing rains could trigger new landslides.

"Bad weather and landslides hampered the rescue operation," Mr. Inganta said, adding that access to those affected remained limited as rescuers battled harsh conditions.

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The natural disasters on Tuesday occurred on the same day that the disaster relief agency announced the official end of rescue operations in two districts of Java, Indonesia's most populous island, after 10 days of work.

More than 1,000 rescuers were deployed to search for people buried under landslides caused by heavy rains, which killed 38 people in the Cilacap and Banjarnegara districts of Central Java.

At least two people in Cilacap and 11 in Banjarnegara were still considered missing at the time of the rescue operation's completion, as unstable soil, bad weather, and the depth and volume of buried waste posed a serious threat to the safety of residents and rescuers, the agency said.

Heavy seasonal rains from approximately October to March often cause floods and landslides in Indonesia — an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, including Sumatra — where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.

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