NEED TO KNOW
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At least 18 people have died after Indonesia was hit by landslides triggered by heavy rain
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Sixteen people died in Cibeunying village in the city of Cilacap, while two more also died in the region of Banjarnegara, according to reports
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Dozens also remain missing
At least 18 people have died and dozens are missing after rainfall-triggered landslides in two regions of Indonesia’s Central Java, according to reports.
On Monday. Nov. 17, authorities confirmed the latest death toll after at least 16 victims died following a landslide in the city of Cilacap, burying multiple houses in Cibeunying village last week. Two people also died following a landslide in the region of Banjarnegara on Saturday, Nov. 15, per Reuters and The Jakarta Post.
Search and rescue efforts have been challenging as some victims were buried 10 to 25 feet deep, Reuters reported, citing the disaster mitigation agency.
The Basarnas Cilacap search and rescue team confirmed on Monday that search efforts for victims had entered a fifth day, per a Facebook post, while the regional disaster management agency (Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah, BPBD) has been keeping the public updated with multiple videos on Instagram.
At least seven are missing following the Cilacap landslide, The Jakarta Post reported, citing Muhamad Abdullah, the chief of the search and rescue agency’s local division.
BAKHTIAR RAHMAN/AFP via Getty
Rescuers search for survivors in Cibeunying village, Cilacap Regency in Indonesia’s Central Java
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Twenty-seven people remain missing following Saturday’s landslide in the Banjarnegara region, the outlet reported, citing the disaster mitigation agency. The agency added that as many as 30 houses, as well as farms, had been damaged amid the landslide.
BAKHTIAR RAHMAN/AFP via Getty
A destroyed house is seen Cibeunying village in Indonesia’s Central Java
Abdullah said that the search and rescue team had been “using thermal drone, moving tracking dogs, alcon (water pump), modern and manual extrication, and heavy equipment” to look for victims amid the landslides, per the Basarnas Cilacap Facebook post.
“Weather modification has also been done by [disaster management agency] BNPB since yesterday, so yesterday afternoon around the location of the incident there was no rain. And today the observed weather is clear, hopefully can maximize the search until all the victims can be found soon,” Abdullah added, according to a translated post.
The country’s wet season started in September and will likely last until April, meaning the risk of extreme rainfall and flooding is high, Reuters reported, citing the weather agency.
The agency previously warned that extreme conditions could result in hydrometeorological disasters, with heavy rainfall expected across several regions of Indonesia in the coming weeks, per The Jakarta Post.
Disaster management agency BPBD in the Cilacap Regency and Basarnas Cilacap did not immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information
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