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andslides caused by heavy rains in the past two days have killed two people in Tulungagung, East Java, buried a part of southern Java's main road in Cilacap and dozens of houses in Purworejo, both in Central Java.

The bodies of two victims of the landslide in Geger village, Sendang district, Tulungagung regency, were recovered on Sunday.

"We have located and removed the bodies. They have been returned to their relatives," head of the regency's unity and people's protection agency Rudi Kristianto was quoted by Antara as saying.

He said his officers had difficulty in recovering the bodies of Minem, 49, and Widia, 17, as their houses were covered by two meters of mud.

The landslide occured on Saturday at midnight, he added.

The landslide was the second in the regency this month. The last landslide occured in Krandenan village, Pagerwojo district, cutting off the main road connecting the regency with neighboring Trenggalek regency.

Meanwhile, in Cilacap, landslide mud blanketed the road in Cimanggu-Majenang area, Cilacap, since Sunday morning, slowing vehicles passing the area. Many motorcyclists slipped and fell when attempting to ride over the mud.

"It's not just covering the road, the mud has even entered the school yard. It's very sad," Misjo, a teacher at Cimanggu elementary school, told The Jakarta Post.

Misjo said the mud also blocked the irrigation canal and caused localised flooding in the area, which further damaged many of the houses.

He deemed logging to be to blame for the landslides, which were triggered by heavy rains.

"I hope Cilacap can handle the disasters. Because they're more violent and dangerous than the usual flooding," he added.

Another resident, Tarno, blamed state forest management firm PT Perhutani which managed the hilly area, for not managing the area properly.

"The deforested area was part of pine forest managed by Perhutani. There was a landslide that happened two months ago, the firm should be able to anticipate landslides before they happen," Tarno said.

Meanwhile, nine houses were badly damaged and 37 others were slightly damaged by the landslide that occured on Saturday evening in two villages, in Bruno district, Purworejo regency. No fatalities were reported.

The landslides happened at 49 points along the villages' road, spanning 10 kilometers and isolating the villages.

Head of the regency's unity and people's protection agency Hardoyo said the landslides were caused by four hours of heavy rain.