CISARUA: A landslide killed at least eight people and more than 80 are missing on the main island of Java, Indonesia, on Saturday, a disaster official said.
Triggered by heavy rain, it hit two villages in Java's West Bandung region around 2:30 a.m. (1930 GMT Friday) and buried residential areas.
Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the national disaster agency (BNPB), confirmed that eight people died.
“As of 10:30 on Saturday, dozens of residents were healthy and 82 people were still being searched,” he said in a statement.
The disaster follows floods and landslides late last year that killed about 1,200 people and displaced more than 240,000 on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to official figures.
Environmentalists and experts have pointed to the role that forest loss played in the floods and landslides that brought torrents of mud toward villages.
West Bandung Mayor Jeje Ritchie Ismail told reporters that the army, police and volunteers were helping in the search for the missing.
However, he warned that the terrain was extremely difficult and that the ground remained unstable.
The local search and rescue agency said it was carrying out manual excavations, spraying the ground with water bombs and using drones to search for victims.
Forest loss
Floods and landslides are common in Indonesia during the rainy season, which typically runs from October to March.
Tropical storms and intense monsoon rains hit parts of South and Southeast Asia late last year, triggering deadly landslides and flooding from the rainforests of Sumatra to the highland plantations of Sri Lanka.
Forests help absorb rain and stabilize soil supported by their roots, and their absence makes areas more prone to flash floods and landslides, said David Gaveau, founder of conservation company The TreeMap. AFP in December.
In 2024, more than 240,000 hectares of primary forest will be lost, according to an analysis by The TreeMap's Nusantara Atlas project.
Indonesia is regularly among the countries with the highest annual forest loss, NGOs have said, adding that mining, plantations and fires have led to the clearing of large swathes of its lush rainforest in recent decades.
This week, the government withdrew more than two dozen permits from forestry, mining and hydroelectric companies in Sumatra.
Saturday's landslide also comes after torrential rains hit Indonesia's Siau Island this month, causing a flash flood that killed at least 16 people.
