Death toll from floods in Indonesia continues to rise

The number of people killed by flash floods and mud slides in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province has risen to 52 and more than 3,000 people were evacuated, local authorities said on May 14.

An aerial view showing an area affected by the flash floods and landslides in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra province, Indonesia. (Photo: Reuters)

The West Sumatra disaster agency's spokesman Ilham Wahab said search for the missing persons resumed on May 14 as several heavy machinery equipment had been added to the scene to help with the operation. The number of bodies found will keep changing as people keep reporting about their missing family members.

Wahab noted that the ongoing emergency relief efforts will be followed by a reconstruction and rehabilitation programme.

According to Lieutenant General Suharyanto, Head of the National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency, the natural disaster has forced over 3,000 people to flee home and take shelters at safer grounds.

Earlier, heavy rains on May 11 night triggered the waters of the rivers to overflow their banks, striking the regencies of Agam, Tanah Datar and Pariaman, and Padang Panjang town./.

VNA