(Jakarta) At least 15 people have died in central Indonesia following landslides and floods that swept away dozens of homes and damaged roads, the National Disaster Management Agency said on Saturday .
Landslides triggered by heavy rainfall hit the Luwu area in southern Sulawesi province shortly after 1 a.m. Friday, said Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the Indonesian Lands Agency. disaster management (BNPB), in a press release.
“A total of 14 residents died due to floods and landslides in Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi Province,” he said.
More than 100 houses were seriously damaged and 42 swept away, while four roads and a bridge were damaged, according to the same source.
More than 100 people have been evacuated to mosques or relatives’ homes and authorities are trying to evacuate more than 1,300 families who have been affected.
In another area of South Sulawesi province, at least one person died and two others were injured in floods that occurred on Friday, the Agency’s spokesperson said, in another communicated.
Indonesia experiences numerous landslides during the rainy season and the phenomenon has been worsened in some places by deforestation.
In early March, flash floods and landslides on the island of Sumatra killed at least 30 people and dozens more were reported missing.