LEMBATA, Indonesia (AP) – The death toll from mudslides in eastern Indonesia has risen to 140 and dozens are still missing, officials said Wednesday, as rain continued to hit the region, hampering the search.
The East Flores district on Adonara Island suffered the greatest losses with 67 bodies recovered and six missing to date. The mud tumbled from the surrounding hills early on Sunday, catching people to sleep. Some were swept away by flash floods after nighttime rains caused rivers to burst their banks.
On the nearby island of Lembata, the downpour caused by tropical cyclone Seroja sent solidified lava from a volcanic eruption in November and crashed into more than a dozen villages, killing at least 32 and 35 not listed, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.
Hundreds of policemen, soldiers and residents dug through the rubble with their bare hands, shovels and hoes in search of those buried. Family members lamented Wednesday as they watched rescue workers pull out a mud-encrusted body, put it on a bamboo stretcher, and take it for burial.
“Please find my mom and dad who are still buried … regardless of their condition,” Suzanna Tasoin shouted to rescuers struggling to dig up tons of volcanic material and rocks with agricultural implements in Waimatan village on Lembata Island, ” bury them with the respect they deserve. “
In total, landslides and floods have claimed the lives of at least 140 on various islands in Indonesia and 27 people in neighboring East Timor. Thousands of homes have been damaged and thousands of people displaced by the weather, which is expected to last until at least Friday when the storm moves south towards Australia.
Rescue efforts were hampered by the rain and the remoteness of the area, where roads and bridges were damaged in many places.
Rescue personnel with excavators and tons of food and medicine were deployed from Makassar town on Sulawesi Island, but were hampered by bad weather and extremely high waves.
Five helicopters helped reach isolated areas of the islands, Doni Monardo, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, told reporters late on Wednesday.
He said evacuees urgently need basic supplies such as blankets, mats, tents, baby food and medical services.
The government supplied tens of thousands of anti-coronavirus masks, and Monardo said authorities would set up health posts in refugee camps to test people for the virus.
He said six naval vessels, including a hospital ship, with more supplies are expected to arrive Friday to relieve the overwhelmed hospitals and clinics in East Nusa Tenggara, one of Indonesia’s poorest provinces.
Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.