Flash floods in Indonesia leave at least 15 dead and 6 missing

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DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — The death toll from flash floods that struck two provinces in Indonesia rose to 15 after rescuers recovered more bodies Wednesday, while six people were missing, authorities said.

Torrential rains beginning Monday caused flooding and landslides in East Nusa Tenggara province and on the tourist island of Bali.

Rescuers on Wednesday were pulled out the bodies of a mother and her child buried under tons of mud in the worst-hit village of Mauponggo and a man in the neighboring village of Loka laba in Nagekeo district of East Nusa Tenggara, officials said. Previously, three members of a family were found dead after their house was swept away and four people were missing in Mauponggo village.

In Bali, rescuers retrieved the body of a woman near the Kumbasari market in Bali’s provincial capital of Denpasar late Wednesday, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari. He revised the number of people still missing from eight to two, after some were included to those who died.

Eight bodies were found in several areas earlier on Wednesday, including four people who were in a building that collapsed and was swept away in the Kumbasari market area of South Denpasar, said Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of Bali’s Search and Rescue Agency.

Rain has caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through nine cities and districts in Bali. Mud, rocks and trees tumbled onto mountainside hamlets and rising rivers submerged at least 112 neighborhoods and resulted in several landslides, Bali’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement.

Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed cars floating in muddy waters while soldiers and rescuers in rubber boats helped children and older people who were forced onto the roofs of flooded homes and buildings.

Severe flooding inundated thousands of homes and buildings in residential areas and tourist spots. Authorities have cut electricity and water, prompting hotels, restaurants, hospitals and other public facilities to use generators, Bali Gov. Wayan Koster said.

There have been landslides in 18 neighborhoods of Karangasem, Gianyar and Badung districts and swept through at least 15 shops and houses and damages several roads and bridges, he said.

“This disaster also caused material losses for traders and tourism businesses,” Koster said, adding that more than 800 people were in temporary shelters after floodwater reached up to 2.5 meters (8 feet) in places.

Local Disaster Mitigation Agency head Agustinus Pone said flash floods in Nagekeo swept away villagers and vehicles passing through devastated villages and triggered a landslide that blocked three roads, killing at least six villagers and four people were missing.

The severe weather and rugged terrain hampered rescue efforts, he said, noting that the flooding in Nagekeo also destroyed two bridges, two government offices, a plantation, rice fields and livestock, Muhari said.

Heavy seasonal rain from about September to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia.