Landslide kills four in Manado

Landslide kills four in Manado

MANADO, North Sulawesi: Four people have been found buried under a mound of earth following the landslides that hit Molas village, near here, over the weekend, an official said here yesterday.

Village chief S. Mokoagow said that the victims were all women. There were Tubagus Moningkoda, 38, a primary school teacher and her 60-year-old mother, Debora Malaganda Gagana. They were buried in their homes.

The other two are a 54-old woman, whose profession is not known, and a three-year-old child.

He said that there were also 10 people, whose ages ranged between 1.5 and 83, that were seriously injured.

The official said that four rivers burst their banks and swamped nearly villages. At least 35 houses were carried away by rushing water, 287 others flooded.

At least 103 houses were badly damaged causing 1,825 families to flee the area. They were housed in village halls, churches and mosques.

Local authorities were still making every effort to find more victims but they were hampered by fears of further landslides, Antara news agency reported. (16)