Deadly floods hit Indonesia’s Java, mud hampers relief work

Rescuers found a half dozen bodies in Batu and two more victims in Malang, while three people are still missing.

The agency said heavy rains are expected to continue and increase until February, partly because of a La Nina weather pattern [Timur Matahari/AFP]

Flash floods from torrential rains on Indonesia’s main island of Java have killed at least eight people and three others are missing, officials have said.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said on Friday that rivers on the slopes of Mount Arjuno overflowed their banks on Thursday and their muddy waters inundated five hamlets in Kota Batu, a city in East Java province.

It previously said 15 people were swept away and five were later rescued.

Six people were pulled from the detritus alive, while rescuers found a half dozen bodies in Batu and two more victims in Malang.

“Until now, we are still trying to find three people still missing,” the agency’s chairman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

Relief efforts were hampered by blocked roads covered with thick mud and debris.

Photos and videos released by the agency showed a damaged bridge, and houses and cars covered in thick mud.

Authorities were still collecting information about damage and possible casualties and they were beginning to evacuate people in affected areas to government shelters, Muhari said.

Severe flooding was also reported in other areas of the country but no casualties were reported, the agency said.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said heavy rains are expected to continue and increase until February, partly because of a La Nina weather pattern.

Seasonal rains frequently cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.

Source: AP