Floods and landslides leave at least 11 dead in Indonesia

Rain-triggered landslides and floods have killed 11 people in the east of Indonesia's main island of Java, an official reported on Tuesday.

Torrential rains since Monday have caused rivers in the area to overflow, causing flooding to thousands of homes and forcing 4,000 people to evacuate, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

The rains, triggered by the tropical cyclone "Cempaka", caused floods and landslides in 20 districts of East Java and in Klungkung in Bali, the spokesman said. Nine people were buried by landslides on Tuesday, November 28, in two villages in the Pacitan district, East Java. Two more people drowned in floods in the same district.

Extreme weather will continue to hit the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali, the spokesman added, warning people to be prepared for floods, landslides and tornados.

Seasonal rains cause frequent floods in Indonesia, where many of the 260 million people live in mountainous areas or fertile, flood-prone plains near rivers.