TWO landslides have killed at least 18 people in Indonesia as rescuers desperately search for the remaining missing.
Rain-triggered landslides have struck two regions of Java – Indonesia’s main island – leaving at least 34 people stuck beneath rubble and mud.
More than 500 people have been deployed in rescue effortsCredit: EPA
At least 18 people have died in the natural disasterCredit: Reuters
Excavators and sniffer dogs are helping rescue effortsCredit: AFP
A torrential downpour in the city of Cilacap caused an avalanche of rocks and mud to bury a dozen houses in the Cibeunying village, according to the disaster mitigation agency.
Search and rescue efforts were hampered as people were buried at depths between 10 and 25 feet.
The second landslide struck Central Java’s Banjarnegara district, where tons of mud plunged down the surrounding hills as more than 800 residents fled to safety.
At least 30 houses remain buried under the mud.
More than 500 emergency service workers, including police and soldiers, supported by 22 excavators and 18 sniffer dogs have been deployed to the devastated areas.
In a video statement, Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said seven villagers in the Cilacap region remained missing as rescue efforts reached the fifth day.
Muhari said some people had fled to higher ground, which was still prone to further landslides.
On Monday, the death toll reached 18, after rescuers retrieved two bodies from the Banjarnegara region.
The search remains ongoing for at least 27 people still unaccounted for following the disaster.
Local authorities have struggled to evacuate dozens of residents, who fled to vulnerable hills, seeking safety at government shelters.
“BNPB [is] conducting a weather modification operation using an aircraft with a total of 3,000 kilograms (more than three tons) of seeding material for the operation,” Muhari said.
“[The operation will] ensure weather conditions remain stable to support more effective search efforts.”
Cloud seeding involves dispersing particles into clouds to create precipitation.
Muhari added that the aim of modifying the weather was to redirect the rain to another place in order to keep the search operation free of further downpours.
BNPB released images of rescuers digging desperately in villages where green-terraced rice fields were transformed into murky brown mud.
Villages have been left covered in thick mud, rocks and uprooted trees.
Entire villages have been left covered in thick mud, rocks and uprooted treesCredit: EPA
There are missing people buried in up to 25 feet of mudCredit: Reuters
Seasonal downpours cause frequent landslides and floods in the Southeast Asian country.
Indonesia is made up of a chain of 17,000 islands, which millions of people call home.
The region’s wet season began in September and is likely to last until April next year.
In September, after a catastrophic landslide destroyed an entire Sudanese village.
Just one person survived the tragedy in the Darfur region of western Sudan, according to the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM).
Days of torrential rain loosened the soil and caused the slopes of the Marrah Mountains to collapse, swallowing up entire families in the village of Tarasin, which has been “completely levelled to the ground”, the movement said.
