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Rescuers search for survivors as Central Java landslide kills at least 17

Intense rainfall in a mountainous area near Pekalongan city sparked the landslide on Monday, collapsing bridges and burying cars and houses.

Agencies
Pekalongan, Central Java
Wed, January 22, 2025

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Rescuers search for survivors as Central Java landslide kills at least 17 People walk through the site of a landslide triggered by heavy rain two days ago in Mudal village, near Pekalongan city in Central Java on January 22, 2025. (AFP/Devi Rahman)

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undreds of rescuers were searching through thick mud and debris to find survivors Wednesday after a rain-triggered landslide in Central Java that killed at least 17 people and left nine missing.

Intense rainfall in a mountainous area near Pekalongan city sparked the landslide on Monday, collapsing bridges and burying cars and houses.

The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said in a statement Wednesday that the toll remained unchanged from Tuesday at 17 dead, nine missing and 13 people injured.

But another body was found, Mohammad Yulian Akbar, a local official told AFP later Wednesday, giving a higher toll of 18.

Heavy machinery was deployed to clear road access for search teams and around 200 rescue personnel have been sent to help, Yulian said.

"The focus is to search for the victims," he said, adding that the local government had declared an emergency in the district for two weeks.

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The worst hit area was Kasimpar village according to the local official, where the landslide struck a coffee shop and people who were trying to shelter from the rain.

Police, soldiers and volunteers have joined the search alongside rescue workers, which is taking place around 90 kilometres (60 miles) west of the city of Semarang. 

But efforts were intermittently suspended Tuesday as heavy rain continued to pound the area.

The weather forecast for the next three days suggests moderate rain that could "cause floods, flash floods and landslides", warned Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), on Tuesday. 

The landslide occurred on a main road connecting Pekalongan with a tourist destination area, Dieng plateau. 

Rescuers were being forced to walk around four kms (2.5 miles) to get into the site because the road was inaccessible. An excavator had been deployed to clear the mud slide. 

Footage from local media showed the road and houses were buried and rice fields were covered by mud, rubble, and rocks. 

Images shared by the disaster agency showed rescuers carrying victims in body bags with bamboo stretchers under thick fog from the site. 

The agency warned residents that rain was expected in the next few days which could cause more landslide and flash floods.

Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, typically between November and April. 

In November, flooding triggered by intense rains in western Indonesia killed 27 people.

But some disasters caused by adverse weather have taken place outside that season in recent years. Climate change has also increased the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.

In May, at least 67 people died after heavy rains caused flash floods in West Sumatra, pushing a mixture of ash, sand, and pebbles from the eruption of Mount Marapi into residential areas.

 

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