JAKARTA - At least 19 people have been found dead after a landslide in central Indonesia, the local authorities said on April 14.
Bodies were removed and two survivors evacuated from two landslide-hit villages in Tana Toraja regency, South Sulawesi province, on the evening of April 13, local disaster agency head Sulaiman Malia said.
“There have been 19 fatalities, with four deaths in South Makale and 15 others in Makale villages,” Mr Malia told AFP on April 14.
“Currently, we are still searching for other victims,” he said, adding that two individuals are still reported missing, presumably buried under the landslide debris.
Tana Toraja and its surrounding areas have been “continuously hit by heavy rainfall, especially over the past week, with hardly any stop”, Mr Malia added.
The heavy rainfall eroded the soil of residential areas located on mountain slopes, leading to landslides that buried homes, he said.
Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season and the problem has been aggravated in some places by deforestation, with prolonged torrential rain causing flooding in some areas of the archipelago nation.
In March, flash floods and landslides on Sumatra island killed at least 30 people, with scores still missing.
A landslide and flooding swept away dozens of houses and destroyed a hotel near Lake Toba in Sumatra in December, killing at least two people. AFP
