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Floods, Landslides Kill 60 in Sumatra, Indonesia
At least 60 people were killed and over one hundred others were missing after two provinces on Sumatra island, Indonesia, were hit by floods and landslides, following days of heavy rain, reports said Monday, November 27.
Many people were washed away by raging floods or buried under tons of rock and mud after hillsides collapsed on top of remote villages in West Sumatra and Aceh provinces, the Indonesian Observer daily reported.
Torrential rains were hampering rescue efforts in the two provinces on the northern half of the island, Antara news agency reported Monday, saying the death toll mounted as heavy rains have fallen steadily since last Thursday.
Flash floods early on Saturday swept away 99 houses in Duo Koto village in Tanah Datar district, West Sumatra, leaving at least 25 people missing and presumed dead.
A landslide hit Taratak Teleng village in Pesisir Selatan district on Saturday, killing at least 18 people.
In Bayang of Pesisir Selatan, the report said, landslides buried two houses, killing a further 10 people, the Republika daily reported.
Seven people were killed in the period between Tuesday and Thursday.
In Taratak Teleng, one body was recovered shortly after the landslide, while 13 people were rescued. Seventeen other people were still buried under tons of mud and stones that fell down the side of the Sangguling hill, after days of rain, the daily said.
Meanwhile, since the rains began, thousands of hectares of paddy fields have been inundated under two meters of water, and road communications cut in many areas in West Sumatra province.
Thousands of people have been evacuated to safer ground in four districts in West Sumatra, reports said.
Rescuers predicted that the number of fatalities were likely to climb as the storms were continuing and they had not yet been able to search all of the disaster-hit villages, reports said.
"Mud floods have also killed at least 5,000 head of cattle, as well as chickens and goats," the Jakarta Post daily reported.
Floods also have hit the area around Banda Aceh, capital of Aceh province, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, cutting if off from the rest of the province.
Rivers have also overflowed in and around Lhokseumawe in North Aceh.
Hundreds of houses, schools and other buildings have been flooded in the province, reports said.
Rain-triggered landslides and floods have also killed at least 119 people since last month on Java island.
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