Indonesia Hit By Deadly Floods, Killing Dozens

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

JAKARTA/DENPASAR (Worthy News) – Rescuers in Indonesia have recovered the bodies of dozens of people killed in flash floods or buried under tons of mud and rocks on the nation’s Java and Bali islands, with more heavy rain expected.

Since Monday, the human remains of at least 17 people were found in Java, the country’s main island, officials said Tuesday, adding that eight people were still missing.

Torrential rains on Monday caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through nine villages in the Pekalongan regency of Central Java province. “Mud, rocks, and trees tumbled down” on mountainside hamlets, said Bergas Catursasi, who heads the local Disaster Management Agency.

He added that the bodies were found in the worst-hit village of Petungkriyono and that they were searching for eight villagers who were reported missing. Eleven injured people managed to escape and were rushed to nearby hospitals, Catursari said.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Abdul Muhari confirmed that flash floods “swept away villagers and vehicles passing through” devastated villages and triggered a landslide that buried two houses.

He said the floods also destroyed two main bridges connecting villages in Pekalongan districts. The provincial Search and Rescue Office explained that a search was suspended Tuesday afternoon due to heavy rain and thick fog and will be resumed early Wednesday. It came as authorities still recalled last month’s disaster, when a landslide, flash floods, and strong winds hit Sukabumi district of West Java province, killing 12 people.

BALI SUFFERING

Separately, at least eight people were reported killed since Monday in landslides across Indonesia’s tropical island of Bali, and more rains were expected.

Worthy News also witnessed motorbike accidents and people struggling to reach safety in heavy rain, including some of the many musicians in Bali driving home on motorbikes after a concert.

The BNPB agency announced Tuesday that the eight people killed in Bali died in two locations, “with all victims recovered by a joint search and rescue team.”

“Four fatalities were reported in Pikat Village [of] Klungkung Regency, and another four in Ubung Kaja Village [of] Denpasar,” the regional capital, BNPB’s Muhari stressed.

Those killed apparently included people in five houses that were destroyed in Denpasar. Seven injured survivors were evacuated and treated, while at least two individuals remain missing, with search efforts ongoing, Worthy News learned.

It came as Bali, which is dependent on tourism, was still reeling from extreme weather that killed two tourists and injured several more when a large tree fell on them last month at the popular “Monkey Forest” in Bali’s village of Ubud.

The tree incident in the area where monkeys interact with visitors was the latest in a series of disasters caused by strong winds and heavy rains lashing Bali and other parts of Indonesia, killing and injuring numerous people, local Christians told Worthy News.

VICTIMS FOUND

This week’s disaster victims were found in Denpasar’s “Pikat Village within two days of the landslide, while those in Ubung Kaja were recovered hours after the incident. Rescue efforts were hampered by adverse weather conditions, delaying operations for safety reasons,” Indonesian police said in a statement obtained by Worthy News.

Authorities urged residents “to remain vigilant” as heavy rains accompanied by lightning could trigger further landslides or flash floods. “Those living near slopes or rivers should relocate during prolonged heavy rain,” Muhari advised

Floods were also reported in several other provinces of Indonesia. Television reports showed police, soldiers, and rescue workers using excavators, farm equipment, and their bare hands to search through the rubble in devastated villages, with locals struggling to find their way out of misery. Others carried victims on bamboo stretchers or in body bags to ambulances or trucks.

Officials noted that bad weather, mudslides, and rugged terrain hampered the rescue operation, especially in areas where flooding swept away people who were fishing in rivers or taking shelter from rain.

Heavy seasonal rain from about October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.

Major recent flood-related tragedies began in November when a landslide and flash floods triggered by heavy downpours hit North Sumatra province, leaving 20 dead and two missing. A landslide in the region also hit a tourist bus, killing nine people, Worthy News monitored.

Authorities in several regions are under pressure to improve infrastructure, a significant issue in Indonesia, as the world’s fourth most populous nation of more than 280 million becomes one of Southeast Asia’s key economies.

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