Death toll from floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island rises to 248, authorities say

AGAM, Indonesia (AP) — Rescue workers in Indonesia struggled on Saturday to reach victims in several devastated areas that were hit by an earthquake and floods, and authorities feared the confirmed death toll of 248 would rise further.

The areas were largely cut off by damaged roads and downed communications lines, and relief aircraft were delivering aid and supplies to the hard-hit district of Central Tapanuli in North Sumatra province and elsewhere in the region. Rescue efforts were also hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment.

The National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB, said rescuers in West Sumatra’s Agam district recovered more bodies, increasing the death toll to 248 with more than 500 people injured.

Monsoon rains over the past week caused rivers to burst their banks in North Sumatra province. The deluge tore through mountainside village, swept away people and submerged thousands of houses and buildings, the BNPB said. Nearly 3,000 displaced families fled to government shelters.

There was a desperate need for heavy equipment to reach possible survivors buried under tons of mud and rocks in Agam district where rescuers retrieved more bodies, bringing the death toll to 74 in West Sumatra alone by Saturday, said Rahmat Lesmono from the local disaster office. Some 78 others were still missing in three villages in Agam.

Relatives wailed as they watched rescuers pull mud-caked bodies from a buried house in Agam’s Salareh Aia village.

Authorities struggled to get tractors and other heavy equipment over washed-out roads after torrential rains sent mud and rocks crashing onto the hilly hamlets in Aceh province. Hundreds of police, soldiers and residents dug through the debris with their bare hands, shovels and hoes as heavy rain hindered their efforts.

“The death toll is believed to be increasing, since many bodies are still missing, while many have not been reached,” said Suharyanto, the BNPB chief who like many Indonesians only uses one name.

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

Authorities in Aceh province said rescuers were having difficulty reaching victims. The stricken areas also needed relief supplies, fuel, fresh water and generators.

“There are many challenges,” Aceh Governor 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 Bireuen district in Aceh caused nine bridges to collapse, paralyzing two-way transportation from North Sumatra’s Medan city to Banda Aceh and forcing 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.

___

Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.