At least 2 dead, 21 missing in landslides in Indonesia’s Java island

A spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency says that a search and rescue operation is underway to look for the missing victims.

At least two people have been killed and 21 others remain unaccounted for following a landslide in Indonesia, according to officials, as rescuers continue to search for the missing.

Several days of heavy rainfall in the region caused the landslides that hit dozens of houses in three villages in the district of Cilacap, Central Java province on Thursday evening, officials said in a statement released on Friday.

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“As of Friday morning, the joint team has rescued 23 people alive. Two people were found deceased, and 21 others are still being searched for,” Abdul Muhari, spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency, said in a statement.

A search and rescue operation was underway to look for the missing victims, Muhari said.

He added that unstable terrain had hindered rescue efforts and that heavy equipment had been deployed to assist the operation.

Footage released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed rescuers searching for victims buried under the rubble of the houses.

Rescuers are using that heavy equipment, extraction tools and manual tools to reach difficult areas.

An extreme weather warning was issued earlier this week by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency.

The agency warned it could cause hydrometeorological disasters and that several regions of Indonesia could experience high rainfall over the coming weeks.

The annual monsoon season from about October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.

Climate change has affected storm patterns, including the length and severity of the season, leading to heavier rain, flash flooding, and stronger wind gusts.

Earlier in November, flash floods and landslides in a remote area of the restive region, Papua, killed at least 15 people and left eight more missing.

In January, more than 20 residents were killed after being swept away in floods and landslides after torrential rains in Central Java province.