- 52 people are confirmed dead in flash floods on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
- Monsoon rains and landslides from Mount Marapi have caused severe damage in four districts of West Sumatra province.
- More than 3,300 residents have been evacuated to temporary evacuation centers due to the destruction of homes and buildings.
Rescuers on Tuesday searched for bodies and as many survivors as possible in the rubble of rivers and devastated villages after flash floods hit Indonesia’s Sumatra island over the weekend.
Monsoon rains and a landslide of mud and cold lava from Mount Marapi caused the river to burst its banks. Just before midnight on Saturday, heavy flooding hit mountainside villages in four districts of West Sumatra province.
National Disaster Management Authority spokesperson Abdul Muhari said the floods washed away people and 79 homes, submerged hundreds of homes and buildings, and forced more than 3,300 residents to seek refuge in temporary government evacuation centers. He said he was forced to do so.
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The National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement that by Tuesday, 52 bodies had been pulled out of the mud and rivers, most of them in the worst-hit Agam and Tanah Datar districts, and rescuers were still missing. They announced that they are searching for 20 people who are reportedly missing.
This drone photo shows damage to a village affected by flash floods in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on May 14, 2024. On Tuesday, rescuers scoured the river and the rubble of the devastated village, searching for bodies and as many survivors of the gunfire as possible. Floods hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra over the weekend. (AP Photo/Sutan Malik Kayo)
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said further heavy rain is expected in West Sumatra province in the coming days and the risk of extreme rainfall will continue into next week. The agency recommended applying weather controls to reduce rain.
National Disaster Management Authority chief Suhariant said authorities will start cloud seeding in the state to prevent further rainfall and flash floods.
“We will introduce weather modification technology starting tomorrow to prevent rain during this emergency response period,” Suhariyanto, who goes by the same name as many Indonesians, told reporters while visiting the affected areas in Agam district. Told. He added that the emergency response will end on May 25th.
Television reports said rescuers were using jackhammers, circular saws, farm tools and sometimes with their bare hands as they desperately fought in the Agam area, where roads have turned into brown rivers and are covered in thick mud, rocks and uprooted trees. There was footage of the excavation being done.
Thousands of rescue workers were searching the river near Anai Gorge Falls in Tanah Datar district, where flash floods left behind tons of mud, rocks and trees.
Rescue teams focused on finding four of the seven people who were swept away along with their cars. Abdul Malik, head of the search and rescue office in the provincial capital Padang, said three other bodies were pulled out on Monday.
“The death toll could rise further as many people are missing and some are still unreachable in remote areas,” Malik said.
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In Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, heavy rains frequently cause landslides and flash floods, and millions of people live near mountainous areas and floodplains.
This weekend’s disaster comes just two months after heavy rains caused flash floods and landslides in West Sumatra province, killing at least 26 people and leaving 11 missing.
A sudden eruption of Mount Marapi late last year killed 23 climbers. Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center said it was difficult to predict the mountain’s sudden eruption because the eruption source was shallow and near the summit.
Marapi has been active since its eruption in January 2024, which caused no casualties. Indonesia has over 120 active volcanoes. The country is prone to seismic upheaval because it sits on the Pacific Rim of Volcano, an arc of volcanoes and faults that encircles the Pacific Basin.
