Indonesia landslides push death toll to 30 as rescuers search for missing in Java’s Banjarnegara and Cilacap amid heavy monsoon rains
BANJARNEGARA: The death toll from multiple landslides in Indonesia’s Java island last week has risen to 30, as the search to find many still missing continues, a disaster official said.
Heavy rainfall triggered a landslide that destroyed at least 48 homes in the Banjarnegara district in Central Java province on Saturday, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
More than 700 personnel from agencies including military, police, search and rescue teams and volunteers have been deployed to Banjarnegara, as well as tracking dogs, BNPB spokesman Abdul Muhari said late Thursday.
“The joint search and rescue team has found seven deceased victims of the landslide disaster… With this discovery, the death toll has risen to 10, while 18 people are still being searched for,” he said.
An AFP photographer saw heavy machinery digging through landslides in Banjarnegara villages as rescue teams combed through the debris.
Muhari said nearly 1,000 people are still evacuated from the district and warned that the potential for subsequent landslides due to rain, water puddles and flowing springs may hamper operations.
A devastating landslide also hit three villages in the Central Java district of Cilacap on Thursday last week.
At least 20 people are confirmed dead and three are still missing in Cilacap, located around 74 kilometres (46 miles) away from Banjarnegara, BNPB said Wednesday — with officials yet to provide an update.
The annual monsoon season, typically between June and September, often brings landslides, flash floods and waterborne diseases.
The National Weather Service has also warned that more heavy rain is expected across several regions in the coming weeks.
Climate change has impacted storm patterns, including the duration and intensity of the season, leading to heavier rainfall, flash flooding, and stronger wind gusts.
Flash floods and landslides in a remote area of Papua in Indonesia’s east killed at least 23 people, Muhari said. – AFP
