At least 20 people have been killed in landslides triggered by heavy rains on the eastern Indonesian island of Flores, and dozens more are still missing, officials said on Saturday.
KUPANG (Indonesia): At least 20 people have been killed in landslides triggered by heavy rains on the eastern Indonesian island of Flores, and dozens more are still missing, officials said on Saturday.
Entire houses were washed away by flash floods, and authorities said rescue teams had still not been able to reach the affected areas.
"Twenty bodies have been evacuated so far and 83 still reported missing," East Manggarai district head Christian Rotok said.
"As of 4:45 pm the evacuation teams had still not been able to reach the affected areas," said Rotok, adding that local residents were themselves managing evacuation efforts.
Earlier, Rotok said 11 houses had been washed away with their owners still inside.
"We have warned people through local radio to move away from critical areas near the big river," he said, adding that people were taking refuge in local churches.
Houses in two other districts were also reported to have been washed away by flash floods that followed five days of heavy rain in the area.
Authorities are preparing to send food supplies to displaced people in the affected areas.
Telephone communication to the area has been almost entirely cut off since the landslides late Friday.
With phone lines down, search and rescue teams are instead having to rely on citizen band radio, with all information coordinated by the disaster management office in the provincial capital, Kupang.
Johnny Erasmus from the disaster management coordination office here said the evacuation effort was being hampered by limited access.
"Provincial authorities have requested the police and military help with evacuation efforts," he said.
Erasmus said bad weather had also prevented the delivery of body bags to areas that had requested them.
Heavy downpours in the island caused 11,000 people in the Reok subdistricts to leave their homes after floods hit the area on Thursday.
Indonesia is currently at the height of the monsoon season, with heavy rains causing landslides and flooding in various parts of the archipelago.
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