41 dead, dozens missing in landslides, flash flooding in Indonesia

At least 41 people have died and dozens remain missing after landslides and flooding struck eastern Indonesia, the country’s disaster relief agency said on Sunday.

Dozens of homes in the Lamenele village in Adonara island in East Nusa Tenggara province were overtaken by mudslides, The Associated Press reports. The head of the local disaster agency, Lenny Ola, said 35 bodies were recovered by rescuers and at least five people were injured.

In the Oyang Bayang village, 40 houses were destroyed, three bodies were recovered and hundreds of people were forced to flee their homes. In the village of Waiburak, three people have died and seven remain missing.

Rescue efforts were stymied by power outages, road blockages and the remoteness of the affected areas, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

A landslide has destroyed five bridges on Adonara island, according to Ola. Hundreds of people are still taking part in the rescue efforts as of Sunday.

In the nearby province of West Nusa Tenggara, severe flooding has caused almost 10,000 to flee from the town of Bima, the AP reports.

The death toll was lowered from 44 to 41 on Sunday and at least 27 people are still missing.

Landslides are a frequent occurrence in Indonesia, the AP notes, killing dozens of people who live near mountainous regions or flood plains every year. Forty people died in January after two landslides occurred in the West Java province.