PADANG, Indonesia (AP) — Rescue efforts were hampered Friday by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment. flash floods and landslides On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, 79 people were killed and dozens went missing.
The damaging tropical cyclone is expected to continue to hit the Southeast Asian country for several days, Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said.
On Tuesday, rivers in North Sumatra province overflowed their banks due to monsoon rains. The flood swept through mountain villages, washing away people and inundating more than 3,200 houses and buildings, according to the National Disaster Management Agency. About 3,000 displaced families fled to government shelters.
In other provinces on the islands of Aceh and West Sumatra, thousands of houses were flooded, many up to their roofs, the agency said.
At least 48 people were killed and 88 were missing. rescue teams struggled to reach affected areas in 12 cities and districts in North Sumatra province, provincial police spokesman Ferry Walintukan said on Friday. According to him, landslides that covered most of the territory, power outages and lack of telecommunications complicate search efforts.
Flash floods that hit 15 cities and districts in West Sumatra province have left at least 22 people dead and 10 missing, provincial police said in a statement.
The West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency said the flooding had inundated more than 17,000 homes, forcing about 23,000 residents to flee to temporary shelters. Rice fields, livestock and public facilities were also destroyed, while bridges and roads cut off by floods and landslides isolated residents.
Authorities struggled to move excavators and other heavy equipment through washed out roads after heavy rains dumped mud and rocks on hilly villages in Aceh province, leaving at least nine people dead and two missing in three villages in central Aceh.
The extreme weather was caused by tropical cyclone Senyar, which formed in the Strait of Malacca, said Achadi Subarka Rahardjo, director of the aviation meteorology department at the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.
He warned that unstable atmospheric conditions meant extreme weather could persist as long as the cyclone system remained active.
“We have extended the extreme weather warning due to the strong influx of water vapor and changing atmospheric dynamics,” Rahardjo said.
Senyar increased rainfall, strong winds and high waves in Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau and nearby areas before dissipating. Prolonged downpours have made steep, saturated areas highly vulnerable to natural disasters, he said.
Seasonal rains often cause floods and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.
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Carmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.
Niniek Karmini and Kasparman Piliang, Associated Press
