Death toll in flooding, landslides in Indonesia rises to 21

JAKARTA, INDONESIA — 

Indonesian rescuers retrieved 4 much bodies aft they resumed their hunt Wednesday for radical missing aft floods and landslides connected Indonesia's main land of Java, bringing the decease toll to 21.

Water from flooded rivers tore done 9 villages successful Pekalongan regency of Central Java province, and landslides tumbled onto mountainside hamlets aft the torrential rains Monday.

Videos and photos released by National Search and Rescue Agency showed workers digging desperately successful villages wherever roads and green-terraced atom fields were transformed into murky brownish mud and villages were covered by heavy mud, rocks and uprooted trees.

National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said flooding triggered a landslide that buried 2 houses and a cafe successful the Petungkriyono edifice area. The disasters each unneurotic destroyed 25 houses, a dam and 3 main bridges connecting villages successful Pekalongan. At slightest 13 radical were injured, and astir 300 radical were forced to fly to impermanent authorities shelters.

The hunt and rescue cognition that was hampered by atrocious weather, mudslides and rugged terrain was halted Tuesday day owed to dense rainfall and heavy fog that made devastated areas on the rivers unsafe to rescuers.

On Wednesday, they searched successful rivers and the rubble of villages for bodies and survivors successful worst-hit Kasimpar village, said Budiono, who heads a section rescue office.

Scores of rescue unit recovered 3 mud-caked bodies, including a 5-month aged baby, arsenic they searched a Petungkriyono country wherever tons of mud and rocks buried 2 houses and a cafe. Another assemblage was pulled retired from nether a breached span adjacent a stream successful Kasimpar village. Rescuers are inactive searching for 5 radical reported missing.

Landslides and floods were besides reported successful galore different provinces, Muhari said. On Monday, a landslide deed 5 houses successful Denpasar, connected the tourer land of Bali, sidesplitting 4 radical and leaving 1 missing.

Heavy seasonal rainfall from astir October to March often causes flooding and landslides successful Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands wherever millions of radical unrecorded successful mountainous areas oregon adjacent fertile floodplains.