Landslides, floods sweep Indonesia’s South Sulawesi, killing 15 people

Disaster management agency says 115 people evacuated, more than 100 houses damaged amid prolonged torrential rain.

Landslides and flooding triggered by heavy rains in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province have killed at least 15 people after dozens of homes were swept away and roads damaged, the country’s disaster management agency said.

Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, which began in January, with the problem aggravated in some areas by deforestation, and prolonged downpours caused floods in parts of the country that comprises 17,000 islands.

The landslides struck Luwu regency in South Sulawesi on Friday, said Abdul Muhari, spokesperson of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB), in a statement on Saturday.

“A total of 14 residents died due to floods and landslides in Luwu regency,” he said.

In another area of South Sulawesi, at least one person died and two others were injured, Abdul said.

According to BNPB, more than 100 houses were seriously damaged and 42 were swept away, while four roads and one bridge were damaged.

Some 115 people were evacuated to mosques or relatives’ homes and more than 1,300 families were affected with authorities trying to evacuate them.

Indonesia has suffered a string of recent extreme weather events during its rainy season, which experts say are made more likely by climate change.

In March, flash floods and landslides on Sumatra island killed at least 30 people.

In recent days, several Indonesian cities also reported extreme heat, but the country’s weather bureau, BMKG, said the rising temperatures were not part of a heatwave currently sweeping much of the Southeast Asian region.