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Indonesian rescue teams have found the remains of at least 11 individuals, while 13 others remain unaccounted for after flash floods hit two provinces, according to local authorities.
In the Nagekeo district of East Nusa Tenggara, officials reported that three family members lost their lives when their home was swept away, with five others still missing as of Wednesday.
In Bali, eight bodies were discovered across various locations, with eight more residents missing, stated Muhammad Iqbal Simatupang, the police chief in Denpasar, the provincial capital.
Rain has caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through nine cities and districts in Bali.
Bali’s Disaster Mitigation Agency reported that mud, rocks, and trees plummeted onto mountainside villages, and rising river waters flooded at least 112 neighborhoods, triggering multiple landslides.
Four individuals were inside a building that collapsed and was carried away in the Kumbasari market area of South Denpasar, according to Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of Bali’s Search and Rescue Agency.
Footage shared by the National Search and Rescue Agency depicted cars being carried by muddy waters, while soldiers and rescuers in rubber boats assisted children and the elderly who sought refuge on the rooftops of inundated houses and structures.
Severe flooding inundated thousands of homes and buildings in residential areas and tourist spots.
Authorities have cut electricity and water, prompting hotels, restaurants, hospitals and other public facilities to use generators, Bali Governor Wayan Koster said.
There have been landslides in 18 neighbourhoods of Karangasem, Gianyar and Badung districts and flooding swept through at least 15 shops and houses and damaged several roads and bridges, he said.
“This disaster also caused material losses for traders and tourism businesses,” Koster said, adding that more than 800 people were in temporary shelters after floodwater reached up to 2.5 metres in places.
National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said flash floods in Nagekeo swept away villagers and vehicles passing through devastated villages and triggered a landslide that blocked three roads, killing at least three villagers and four people were missing.
The severe weather and rugged terrain hampered rescue efforts, he said, noting that the flooding in Nagekeo also destroyed two bridges, two government offices, a plantation, rice fields and livestock, Muhari said.
Heavy seasonal rain from about September to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia.