A landslide triggered by heavy rainfall killed at least seven people and left more than 80 missing on Indonesia’s main island of Java, a disaster official said on Saturday.
The landslide struck a village in West Bandung regency, West Java province, at around 2:30 a.m., damaging dozens of homes.
“A landslide occurred in West Bandung Regency in the early hours of Saturday, killing seven people,” said Abdul Muhari, spokesman for Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency (BNPB).
“As of 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, dozens of residents had been found safe, while 83 people were still missing and search operations were ongoing,” he added.
Floods and landslides are frequent in Indonesia during the rainy season, which typically runs from October to March.
Late last year, tropical storms and intense monsoon rains battered parts of South and Southeast Asia, triggering deadly floods and landslides from Indonesia’s Sumatra island to Sri Lanka’s central highlands.
In Sumatra alone, around 1,200 people were killed and more than 240,000 displaced by flooding, according to the BNPB.
Environmental groups and experts have linked deforestation to the severity of recent floods and landslides, which sent torrents of mud through villages.
Earlier this week, the government revoked more than two dozen permits held by forestry, mining and hydroelectric companies in Sumatra.
The latest landslide follows torrential rains on Indonesia’s Siau island earlier this month, which caused a flash flood that killed at least 16 people.
AFP
