Heavy Rain Triggers Flooding, Landslides in Indonesia, Killing At Least 24

Pam Wright
Published: September 21,2016

Heavy rains led to flooding and landslides on the Indonesian island of Java, killing at least 24 villagers, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said Wednesday.
“We have handled the disaster; we have evacuated the site, established shelters and sent help,” Heryawan told the Jakarta Post in Bandung, the provincial capital.
One of the worst-affected areas was the district of Garut, where 16 people died after the Cimanuk and Cikamuri rivers overflowed Tuesday night, reports the Associated Press. Among the dead are five children, seven women and an 8-month-old baby.

An Indonesian search and rescue team along with soldiers use heavy machinery to remove debris from an area hit by a landslide in Sumedang on Sept. 21, 2016. The death toll from a series of landslides and flash floods in Indonesia climbed to 24 on September 21, an official said, including several children found by rescuers scouring for survivors.
(TIMUR MATAHARI/AFP/Getty Images)

Nine people remain unaccounted for in Garut and Sumedang districts, in West Java province, said National Disaster Management Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Three villagers were killed in Sumedang and one person was still missing after landslides buried two houses and destroyed a mosque, according to the AP.
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Another 30 people were injured in both districts, Sutopo said, and about 1,000 villagers were evacuated to army barracks and other temporary shelters.
“The floods have receded in several spots,” Sutopo told local media Wednesday morning, reports Time magazine. “[But] the situation is quite critical there."
MORE: Indonesia Wildfires, September 2015