Jakarta - Landslides, flash floods and high waves have
killed at least 18 people on Indonesia's Java and Sulawesi islands,
officials and media reports said Monday.
The flash floods, triggered by incessant rains, caused the
Bengawan Solo River to burst its banks, submerging thousands of homes
Monday in the East Java district of Bojonegoro.
The floodwaters inundated homes in dozens of villages over the
weekend in the upper regions of the river in central Java's Solo
regency and nearby areas.
In addition, more than 1,700 hectares of rice fields in Bojonegoro
were inundated by floodwaters up to 1-metre deep, officials said.
Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry's crisis centre, said
rain-triggered landslides killed at least seven people - six in
central Java and one in southern Sulawesi - while two people were
killed in flash floods in the two provinces.
In East Java province, two people were killed and another two were
missing and feared dead after flooding swept through the Jember and
adjacent Pasuruan district. Hundreds of other residents remained at
an evacuation centre after floodwaters had inundated their homes
since the middle of last week.
Separately, along the southern coast of Java, the bodies of three
high-school students were found on Parangtritis beach south of
Yogyakarta while two others were still missing and feared dead. The
five students were swept away by large waves while swimming at the
beach Saturday.
The flash floods also swept through the Central Java district of
Cilacap, forcing several hundred people to flee their homes.
Landslides and floods are common during the rainy season in
Indonesia, which is losing its forests at the world's fastest rate
because of illegal logging and palm-oil plantations.
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