Heavy rains in Sumatra and Java over the weekend have caused flooding and landslides in a number of areas, burying residents.

Floods and landslides have swept at least 16 regencies and municipalities in Central Java, killing 24, while another 26 remain missing.

The Semarang office of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) recorded that the worst-hit areas were Banjarnegara, Kebumen and Purworejo.

“At least 29 people remain buried in several regions,” said office head Agus Haryono on Sunday.

He said most of the buried victims were in Donorati village, Purworejo.

At least 13 people have been killed in landslides in Banjarnegara and Kebumen. Flooding has also caused the Bengawan Solo River to overflow, resulting in hundreds of submerged homes, with more than 1,000 residents evacuated. The most severely affected areas are Pucangsawit, Sewu, Sangkrah, Semanggi, Kedunglumbu, Joyotakan, Gandekan and Gulon subdistricts in Pasar Kliwon, Serengan and Jebres districts.

In Joyotakan, water levels ranged from 50 centimeters to a meter high. As of Sunday afternoon, water levels continued to rise as residents were evacuated by rescue teams on rubber dinghies.

“Water gradually rose and we were worried it would not recede until the following morning so we chose to evacuate,” said Joyotakan resident Rubiyah.

Hundreds of people in Joyotakan are still crowding evacuation posts along river banks, school compounds and sidewalks. Volunteers from the Surakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) and the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) have begun setting up tents and deploying mobile kitchens.

“We have deployed mobile kitchens to the flooded areas,” said Surakarta Deputy Mayor Achmad Purnomo while inspecting flood conditions in Joyotakan. According to Purnomo, the Surakarta municipality has coordinated with the Surakarta BPBD, Basarnas, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police to handle the floods.

PMI Surakarta secretary Sumartono Hadinoto said the PMI had sent food, including 1,000 rice packets, to the evacuees and would also provide food to break the fast.

“Nearly 2,000 residents have been evacuated. We estimate the number will increase because many people are still trapped in their homes,” he said.

A landslide in Kebumen buried three houses in Sampang village, Sempor district, on Saturday evening. The search continues for six people believed to have been buried in the landslide.

Commander of the Basarnas post in Cilacap, Moel Wahyono, said a landslide had also buried a house in Gumelem village, Susukan district, where seven people died.

“We’re still focusing on handling landslides and floods in Banyumas, Kebumen and Banjarnegara regencies. We’re still evacuating residents in Banjarnegara, where the terrain is quite difficult,” said Wahyono.

In West Sumatra, 10 houses were severely damaged, three of which were swept away by floods as a result of extreme weather on Thursday and Friday.

West Sumatra BPBD officer Rivalno Pagar Negara said severely damaged homes were found in Lubuk Alung district, Padang Pariaman regency, 30 kilometers north of provincial capital Padang.

“In addition, 10 motorcycles and two cows were swept away and around 50 hectares of rice fields suffered crop failure,” Rivalno said on Saturday.

He said losses had yet to be been estimated, but families whose homes were severely damaged had been evacuated to a nearby mosque.

The flooding was triggered by an overflowing river that carried logs from upstream. In Padang, dozens of homes were abandoned by their occupants in Ampalu and Rawang subdistricts, as they were filled with mud and submerged by the flooding.

Flooding from Thursday night until Friday afternoon submerged over 4,000 homes and public facilities in nine of the 11 districts in Padang, but Rivalno said there had been neither significant damage nor casualties.

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