Indonesia landslide and floods toll mounts to 19

The worst-hit region was the west of Indonesia’s main island of Java, where torrential downpour in Garut saw floodwaters quickly rise to 2 metres, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.

“The official report (from Garut)... is that 16 people were killed and eight others are still missing,” he said.

Among the dead from the fast-rising floods were an eight-month-old and four other children aged below 10 years, Sutopo added, citing a casualty report from the local disaster agency in Garut.

More than 1,000 people have been forced from their homes in the district and are taking shelter in nearby emergency tents set up by search and rescue teams.

Elsewhere in West Java, the toll from a landslide in Sumedang regency rose to three, with another person still believed missing beneath an avalanche of mud and rock. The landslide left two others injured and destroyed a mosque, he added.

Landslides and flooding are common in Indonesia, a vast tropical archipelago prone to natural disasters and torrential downpours. The country’s disaster agency has warned people to be alert this season as a La Nina weather phenomenon threatens unseasonably heavy rain.

In June, 50 people died when heavy rain sent torrents of water, mud and rock surging into villages in Central Java.