ID Nugroho and Wahyoe B. Wardhana, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya/Trenggalek
A torrent of mud, rocks and debris engulfed the East Java city of Trenggalek early on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and leaving six others missing.
The local administration said fatalities were likely to increase with many residential areas still buried in mud and cut off from rescuers.
The flash floods and landslides were triggered by torrential rains in the mountainous area during the past few days.
Trenggalek Regent Soeharto said 13 people were confirmed killed by mudslides, which swept through densely-populated villages in the area, while two others were swept away by flood waters.
Soeharto said most victims were found in Bedungan district, one of the four worst-hit areas in the regency, which has a total population of around 670,000 people.
Three bodies were discovered in Sengon village, eight in Dompyong, two in Sumurup and two others in Keludan, he said.
The regent blamed the heavy flooding on the deforestation in the northern hilly parts of the regency. Forests there had traditionally reduced runoff and mudslides during heavy rains, he said.
Many areas of Trenggalek were still swamped by mud midday on Thursday, paralyzing most of the town and cutting off access to the neighboring city of Ponorogo.
By evening, local residents and government officials were seen cleaning residential areas and office buildings from the mud, which in some areas reached a meter in depth.
The floods also downed telephone lines and cut electricity to many parts of the regency.
As of the afternoon, most telephone lines operated by state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom throughout Trenggalek were out of order as many of its facilities, ranging from cable networks to power generators at the firm's local office, were flooded with mud.
East Java Governor Imam Utomo and his entourage flew to the disaster site Thursday to meet victims' families.
The governor handed out aid in the form of instant noodles and medicines as well as a cash amounting to Rp 100 million (US$10,810). He gave Rp 2.5 million each to families of the victims.
Up to 70 patients, including four infants in incubators, were evacuated to the second floor of the city's Dr. Soetomo General Hospital, the largest in the city. A lack of space meant many patients were laid out in the hospital's corridors, while around 30 decided to return home.
Thursday's flooding was the heaviest ever recorded to have hit Trenggalek, an area that invariably suffers from droughts and water shortages.
