At least 26 dead and 11 missing after flash floods and landslides on Indonesia's Sumatra island
Padang (AP): Rescuers recovered more bodies as waters began to recede after flash floods and landslides caused by torrential rains on Indonesia's Sumatra island, which have killed at least 26 people and left 11 missing, officials said on Monday.
Monsoon rains and rising rivers have submerged nine districts and cities in West Sumatra province since Thursday. Late Friday, a major mudslide caused a river to breach its banks and tear through mountainside villages in Pesisir Selatan district.
Relief efforts for have been hampered by power outages, damaged bridges and roads blocked by thick mud and debris, the National Disaster Management Agency said.
Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said rescuers recovered more bodies, mostly in the worst-hit villages in Pesisir Selatan and its neighbouring Padang Pariaman district, bringing the death toll rose to 26.
Landslides buried at least 14 houses, he said. At least two villagers were injured and rescuers were still searching for 11 people reportedly missing.
Monsoon rains in West Sumatra province have submerged more than 37,000 houses and buildings, Muhari said. At least three houses were swept away by flash floods and 666 others were damaged.
Floods also damaged 26 bridges, 45 mosques and 25 schools; and destroyed 13 roads, two irrigation system units, which in turn submerged 113 hectares (279 acres) of rice fields and 300 square meters (3,220 square feet) of plantation, the agency said.
Heavy rains cause frequent landslides and flash floods in Indonesia, an archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near floodplains.
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A strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake shakes Indonesia's Java Island, felt in Jakarta
Jakarta, Apr 27: A strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook the southern part of Indonesia's main island of Java on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of injury or significant property damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck 102 kilometers (63 miles) south of Banjar city at a depth of 68.3 kilometers (42.4 miles). There was no tsunami warning.
High-rises in the capital Jakarta swayed for around a minute and two-story homes shook strongly in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung and in Jakarta's satellite cities of Depok, Tangerang, Bogor and Bekasi. The quake was also felt in other cities in West Java, Yogyakarta and East Java province, according to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency.
The agency warned of possible aftershocks.
Earthquakes are frequent across the sprawling archipelago nation, but they are rarely felt in Jakarta.
Indonesia, a seismically active archipelago of 270 million people, is prone to seismic upheaval because of its location on major geological faults known as the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake in 2022 killed at least 602 people in West Java's Cianjur city. It was the deadliest in Indonesia since a 2018 quake and tsunami in Sulawesi killed more than 4,300 people.
In 2004, an extremely powerful Indian Ocean quake set off a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia's Aceh province.
