Indonesian rescuers search for survivors as the death toll from floods, landslides rises to 279

Rescue workers in Indonesia struggled on Saturday to reach several areas that were hit by landslides and flash floods as authorities feared the confirmed death toll of 279 would rise further.

Parts of North Sumatra province were cut off by damaged roads and downed communications lines, and relied on relief aircraft to deliver aid supplies. Rescue efforts were also hampered by a lack of heavy equipment.

Rescuers in North Sumatra recovered 31 bodies on Saturday, said provincial police spokesperson Ferry Walintukan, increasing the death toll to 279.

More than 3,500 police personnel were deployed to search for 174 people still missing and help distribute aid to over 28,400 who fled to temporary government shelters across the province, he said.

Monsoon rains over the past week caused rivers to burst their banks. The deluge tore through the mountainside village, swept away people and submerged thousands of houses and buildings.

In the Agam district in West Sumatra province, nearly 80 people were missing in three villages, buried under tons of mud and rocks. There was a desperate need for heavy equipment to reach possible survivors. Relatives wailed as they watched rescuers pull bodies from a buried house in Salareh Aia village.

Images also showed massive piles of logs washed ashore on West Sumatra’s Air Tawar Beach, sparking public concern over possible illegal logging that may have contributed to the disaster.

In Aceh province, on the northern tip of Sumatra, authorities had difficulty deploying tractors and other heavy equipment. Hundreds of police, soldiers and residents dug through the debris with bare hands, shovels and hoes as heavy rain pounded the region.

“The death toll is believed to be increasing, since many bodies are still missing, while many have not been reached,” said Suharyanto, the head of the government’s disaster relief agency.

TV reports showed two rescuers battling strong currents in a small rubber boat, moving toward a man clinging to a coconut tree.

“There are many challenges,” Aceh Gov. Muzakir Manaf said after declaring a state of emergency until Dec. 11 to address the disaster. “We have to do many things soon, but conditions do not allow us to do so.”

Local media said that flash floods in the Bireuen district in Aceh collapsed two bridges, paralysing two-way transportation from North Sumatra’s Medan city to Banda Aceh, and forced residents to cross the river from village to village by boat.

It was the latest natural disaster to hit Indonesia, which is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

Seasonal rains frequently cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.