JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian rescuers recovered the our bodies of not less than 17 individuals who had been swept away in flash floods or buried underneath tons of mud and rocks that hit hilly villages on the nation’s major island of Java, officers stated Tuesday. Eight individuals had been lacking.
Torrential rains on Monday brought about rivers to burst their banks, tearing by 9 villages in Pekalongan regency of Central Java province, as mud, rocks and timber tumbled down on mountainside hamlets, stated Bergas Catursasi, who heads the native Catastrophe Administration Company.
He stated rescue staff by Tuesday had pulled out not less than 17 our bodies within the worst-hit village of Petungkriyono, and rescuers are trying to find eight villagers who’re reportedly nonetheless lacking. Eleven injured individuals managed to flee and had been rushed to close by hospitals, Catursari stated.
Tv stories on Tuesday confirmed police, troopers and rescue staff used excavators, farm tools and their naked palms to sift by the rubble in search of the useless and lacking in devastated villages, whereas others carried victims on bamboo stretchers or physique luggage to ambulances or vehicles.
“Unhealthy climate, mudslides and rugged terrain hampered the rescue operation,” Catursari stated, including that individuals who had been fishing within the river and people who had been taking shelter from the rain had been swept away by flash floods.
Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Company spokesperson Abdul Muhari stated flash floods swept away villagers and automobiles passing by devastated villages and triggered a landslide that buried two homes. The catastrophe additionally destroyed two major bridges connecting villages in Pekalongan district.
Seasonal rain from about October to March steadily causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands the place thousands and thousands of individuals reside in mountainous areas or close to fertile floodplains.
Final month, a landslide, flash floods and robust winds hit the Sukabumi district of West Java province, killing 12 individuals. In November a landslide and flash floods triggered by heavy downpours hit Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, leaving 20 useless and two lacking. A landslide within the area additionally hit a vacationer bus that killed 9 individuals.
