Landslides in Indonesia's Sumatra kill at least 27, rescuers search for missing


  • World
  • Thursday, 28 Nov 2024

FILE PHOTO: An excavator moves soil during the search and rescue of victims on the site of a landslide caused by heavy rain at Semangat Gunung Village in Karo, North Sumatra province, Indonesia, November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian rescuers are searching for passengers trapped in a minibus buried in mud after flash floods and landslides hit several locations in North Sumatra province, killing at least 27, an official said on Thursday.

Torrential rain in the province since last week had caused flash floods and landslides in four different districts, Indonesia's disaster agency has said.

A landslide in a village in Deli Serdang on Wednesday killed seven and injured 20, Hadi Wahyudi, North Sumatra police spokesperson told Reuters.

Rescuers were looking for missing people, including those trapped in a minibus and other vehicles on a hilly interprovince road hit by a mudslide, he said, adding he could not give an estimate for the number of affected people.

In other places, rescuers have found 20 dead during a search that started over the weekend. They are still searching for two missing.

"Today, we're focusing our search to find missing people and clearing the roads affected by the landslides," said Hadi, adding excavators were deployed.

The landslides and flash floods damaged houses, mosques, and rice fields.

Heavy rains also triggered floods in the provincial capital of Medan, forcing a delay in votes for a regional election in some polling stations.

Extreme weather is expected in Indonesia towards the end of 2024, as the La Nina phenomenon increases rainfalls across the tropical archipelago, the country's weather agency has warned.

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Gayatri Suroyo and Michael Perry)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In World

Roundup: S&P 500 falls into correction territory amid continuous sell-off
Roundup: Europe against new U.S. tariffs, wine, spirits industry concerned
Number of migrants stopped entering US from Canada drops to multi-year low
Weekly storage of natural gas in U.S. decreases: EIA
Mexico cooperating with U.S. but more work needed on drugs, says Rubio
Philippines' Duterte to have first hearing at ICC on Friday
Portugal's president disbands parliament, calls election on May 18
U.S. stocks close lower
U.S. to see significant severe weather into weekend
Ukraine's Zelenskiy says Putin does not want ceasefire

Others Also Read