"Flash floods and landslides on Indonesia's Sumatra island have killed 69 people, with 59 missing as emergency workers search in rivers and the rubble of villages for bodies and possible survivors. Monsoon rains over the past week caused rivers to burst their banks in North Sumatra province on Tuesday. The deluge tore through mountainside villages, swept away people and submerged more than 2,000 houses and buildings, the National Disaster Management Agency said. Nearly 5,000 residents fled to government shelters."
"Television reports showed rescue personnel using jackhammers, circular saws, farm tools and sometimes their bare hands to dig in areas marked by thick mud, rocks and uprooted trees. Rescuers in rubber boats were searching through a river and helped children and older people who were forced on to the roofs of flooded homes and buildings. In North Sumatra province the death toll rose to 37 as rescue personnel recovered more bodies on Thursday, said provincial police spokesperson Ferry Walintukan in a statement."
Monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides across Sumatra, causing rivers to burst their banks and tearing through mountainside villages. The deluge swept away people, submerged more than 2,000 houses and buildings, and forced nearly 5,000 residents into government shelters. Rescue teams used jackhammers, saws, farm tools and hands to dig through mud, rocks and uprooted trees, while rubber-boat crews searched rivers and rescued people from rooftops. Authorities reported dozens of deaths across multiple districts, many people missing, and search operations hampered by mudslides, power outages and a lack of telecommunications, with the death toll expected to rise.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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