At least 11 people have been confirmed dead following a devastating landslide that struck three villages in Central Java province, Indonesia, after days of heavy rainfall. Authorities said 12 others remained missing as rescue operations intensified.
The landslide occurred on Thursday, burying several houses and damaging others amid torrential downpours that have battered the region.
“As of Saturday afternoon, the number of victims who were found dead is 11, while 12 more are still being searched for,” said Muhammad Abdullah, the local search and rescue chief, in a statement to AFP.
Abdullah explained that more than 700 personnel from the search and rescue office, military, police, and local volunteers were taking part in the operation. “The government has deployed excavators and tracking dogs to assist the search,” he added.
A spokesman for the National Disaster Agency earlier confirmed that two bodies were recovered on Thursday, one on Friday, and eight more on Saturday, bringing the total fatalities to 11.
Indonesia’s national weather service had warned earlier in the week of extreme weather conditions likely to trigger hydrometeorological disasters, including floods and landslides, across multiple regions in the coming weeks.
The monsoon season, which typically runs from November to April, often brings landslides, flash floods, and water-borne diseases to Indonesia’s mountainous and rural communities. Experts said climate change was intensifying the impact of these natural disasters by altering rainfall patterns and increasing storm intensity.
Earlier in November, flash floods and landslides in a remote area of Papua province killed at least 15 people, underscoring the growing threat of extreme weather across the Southeast Asian nation.
