In the Petungkriyono resort region, flooding caused a landslide that buried two homes and a café, according to Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.
As rescuers fought against time and inclement weather to locate survivors, officials reported that five people were still missing Thursday and that the dead toll from a landslide on Indonesia’s main island of Java has risen to 21.
In a mountainous region close to Pekalongan city in the province of Central Java, heavy rains on Monday caused a landslide that buried houses and cars and collapsed bridges.
Budiono, the head of the search and rescue organization from the nearby city of Semarang, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name, told AFP, “As of this morning, we have found 21 victims who dies, and there are five more who are still being searched”.
To sift through the wreckage of a local official’s home and a cafe where more fatalities are believed to have been buried as they sought cover from the storm, heavy machinery has been sent to the hardest-hit Kasimpar village.
“Those two locations as well as the adjacent river are our main priorities. According to Budiono, the current may have taken the victims to the river.
The search and rescue organization Basarnas reports that the landslide also injured at least 13 individuals.
According to Budiono, the rescuers have begun clearing the roadways of the heavy mud and debris.
Although landslides are common in Indonesia during the rainy season, which usually lasts from November to April, in recent years, some catastrophic events brought on by unfavorable weather have occurred outside of that window.
Storm strength has also increased due to climate change, resulting in greater gusts, flash floods, and heavier rains.
When ash, sand, and stones from Mount Marapi’s eruption were forced into residential areas by flash floods brought on by heavy rains in West Sumatra in May, at least 67 individuals lost their lives.
