Landslides cause more deaths in Lampung
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Landslides triggered by two days of heavy rainfall in Lampung province in the south of Sumatra island killed at least 10 people, injured dozens of others and buried five houses on Friday, police said.
However, data from the scene of the disaster revealed that at least 17 bodies were discovered. The death toll is likely to rise as scores of other villagers are still missing and feared dead.
The pre-dawn landslides occurred at two locations at Gunung Kemala village in West Lampung district, some 350 kilometers from the Lampung provincial capital of Bandarlampung.
"I have received a report from the local police that at least 10 people were found dead and 42 others wounded," West Lampung Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rahmat Fudail told Antara news agency, while visiting the devastated area.
However, he could not identify the dead as the bodies were being removed from the scene.
The disaster also buried five houses and some of them were swept into the Gunung Kemala River. Two other houses were damaged.
Search and rescue workers were struggling to uncover several victims still buried using traditional and heavy equipment.
The landslides hit following torrential rain that started on Thursday night and continued until early Friday morning. The rains flooded dozens of villages in the district and neighboring areas.
The landslides and floods also cut off the road linking Lampung with the adjacent province of Bengkulu as several bridges were swept away. Traffic was rerouted to alternative roads.
The arrival of heavy equipment belonging to the West Lampung public works office was delayed as trucks carrying the equipment had to take an alternative road.
Rescue efforts were also hampered by bad weather.
Earlier this month, at least 26 people were killed when a mudslide and flood swept thorough Padusan hot springs in the Pacet resort in Mojokerto, East Java.
Environmentalists blamed the local office of state-owned forestry and plantation company PT Perhutani for the Pacet landslide as it has failed to stop deforestation and illegal logging there.
Corruption and a weak legal system make it difficult for the authorities to take action against errant state and private forestry companies.
Flooding and landslides are common in Indonesia during the rainy season, which usually lasts between November and April.
Landslides also hit South Cianjur district in West Java on Tuesday following downpours, burying 20 meters of road and several houses in the villages of Cimaskara and Mekarwangi in Cibinong subdistrict. No casualties were reported, however.
In Jambi province, the local administration sent heavy equipment to Penetai village, where a landslide crippled the road connecting Kerinci regency to the neighboring town of Merangi.
Meanwhile, floods that started last week have inundated hundreds of houses and thousands of hectares of farmland in the West Kalimantan town of Sambas and Kampar regency in Riau province.
Some 50,000 people were rendered homeless and fled to safer areas in Kampar. However, floodwaters receded there on Friday.
"Many residents are still staying in higher areas. They are afraid to return home because of the heavy rains," said Sobari, a resident of Kampar.
Floods submerged at least 278 houses in Semelagi village in West Kalimantan, where floodwaters reached the roof in several areas.
The disaster damaged the communications system between the provincial capital city of Pontianak and Semelagi.
In Pauh Limo district in the West Sumatra capital of Padang, seven houses were destroyed and dozens of others damaged when floods hit a local housing complex.