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The number of fatalities from landslides in two areas of Central Java, Indonesia, has increased to 30, as rescue operations continue, according to the country’s disaster management agency on Friday.
Approximately 21 individuals are still missing following severe landslides caused by heavy rains that impacted Cilacap last week and Banjarnegara over the weekend. The agency reported that seven more bodies were recovered in Banjarnegara on Thursday, bringing the death toll there to 10, with 18 others still unaccounted for.
In Banjarnegara, the hardest-hit region, dozens of homes were damaged, seven people were injured, and over 900 people have been evacuated after the landslide. Rescue teams, consisting of police and military personnel, are working with excavators to locate the missing, but face challenges such as debris-filled landslide ponds and ongoing rainfall that risks causing further landslides, said Abdul Muhari, the agency’s spokesperson.
In Cilacap, authorities found four additional bodies this week, bringing the death count there to 20, with three individuals still missing. The search and rescue operations in Cilacap have been extended into the following week, and nearly 400 residents have been displaced.
The rainy season in Indonesia, which began in September and is expected to last until April, increases the likelihood of floods and extreme weather events in many parts of the country. Climate change has altered storm patterns, intensifying the duration and severity of storms, resulting in heavier rainfall, flash floods, and strong winds.
Additionally, flash floods and landslides in a remote area of Papua, in eastern Indonesia, have resulted in at least 23 deaths.
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