Floods and landslides struck Indonesia: At least 41 casualties

Torrential rains have caused extensive floods and landslides in Indonesia resulting in, at least, 41 fatalities.

According to the Indonesian Disaster Relief Agency, eastern Indonesia was severely impacted by extreme precipitation with many people affected (some of them are still missing). The rainfalls triggered ground failures, including mudslides, that struck several houses and blocked many roadways. Moreover, local infrastructure in many villages was affected by floods triggered after riverbank bursts. As a result, locals had to evacuate their residences.

On a small island, the landslides caused 5 bridge failures making transportation very challenging. In a city situated in the West Nusa Tenggara province, extreme rainfalls caused dam breaches and floods leading to about 10,000 residences being underwater, killing at least 2 people.

Rescue operations, including military crew and police staff, are still underway in many locations with power outages and infrastructure damage making them extremely challenging. The total number of casualties has not been accounted for yet.

Indonesia is frequently impacted by floods and subsequent landslide events. In January 2021, 2 major, rainfall-induced landslides struck in West Java province. The slides swept away houses killing at least 13 people. The following month, at least 18 more died after a similar slide struck the village of Selopuro in eastern Java.