Heavy rains triggered landslide and flash floods in eastern Indonesia, which killed 44 people and displaced thousands, the disaster agency said Sunday.
"There are 44 people dead with nine injured" in East Flores regency, and "many (...) are still under the mud," National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Raditya Jati told AFP.
The death toll is expected to rise, as the agency is still receiving reports from locals, Jati noted.
"We are still documenting the total number of people injured," the spokesperson said, adding that extreme weather is expected to continue in the coming week.
Shortly after midnight, mud rolled down from surrounding hills and struck nearly 50 houses in Lamenele village on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province.
In another village, Waiburak, overnight rains caused rivers to burst their banks, sending muddy water into large areas of East Flores district, leaving four injured and two missings.
Jati noted that hundreds of people fled submerged homes, some of which were swept away by flash floods.
Photos, released by the agency, showed rescuers and military personnel taking residents to shelters while roads were covered by thick mud and debris.
Additionally, severe flooding has been reported in Bima, a town in the neighboring province of West Nusa Tenggara, forcing nearly 10,000 people to flee, Jati added.
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