An excavator moves soil during the search and rescue of victims on the site of a landslide caused by heavy rain at Semangat Gunung Village in Karo, North Sumatra province, Indonesia, November 25, 2024. — Reuters
At least 27 people were killed after flash floods and landslides struck north of Indonesia’s Sumatra.
Torrential rains had started in the province last week, prompting flash floods and landslides in four districts with harsh and severe weather expected until the end of the year, as per Sky News.
A police spokesperson from North Sumatra, Hadi Wahyudi, said a landslide in the region of Deli Serdang on Wednesday killed seven people and injured 20 others.
The rest of the dead were found in other locations by officials during a search over the weekend.
Wahyudi said rescue efforts are underway with authorities still searching for the missing, including people trapped in a minibus and other vehicles hit by a mudslide.
“Today, we’re focusing our search to find missing people and clearing the roads affected by the landslides,” he said, before adding excavators have been deployed.
Floods were also triggered by rain in Medan, forcing voting to be delayed in some polling stations for the regional election.
Indonesia’s weather agency has alerted the residents that extreme conditions are expected by the end of 2024 as La Nina phenomenon will increase raging rainfall across the tropical archipelago.
Indonesia, home to more than 17,000 islands where millions are inhabited in mountainous areas or near floodplains, regularly witnesses flooding and landslides from seasonal monsoon rain from the months of October through March.