Indonesia: Rescuers searched rivers and village rubble on Thursday for bodies and possible survivors after flash floods and landslides on Sumatra island left 69 people dead and 59 missing. Monsoon rains over the past week caused rivers in North Sumatra province to burst their banks on Tuesday. The deluge swept through mountainside villages, washed away people, and submerged more than 2,000 houses and buildings, the National Disaster Management Agency reported. Nearly 5,000 residents fled to government shelters.

What are the casualties and missing numbers?

The death toll rose to 37 in North Sumatra province as rescue personnel recovered more bodies on Thursday, provincial police spokesperson Ferry Walintukan said. Rescuers were searching for 52 residents reported missing, but mudslides, blackouts, and a lack of telecommunications were hampering search efforts.

17 bodies were recovered by Thursday in South Tapanuli district and eight in Sibolga city, Walintukan added. In neighbouring Central Tapanuli district, landslides struck several homes, killing a family of four and one person in floods in the city of Padang Sidempuan. Two bodies were recovered in Pakpak Bharat district, and five people remain missing in Humbang Hasundutan, where four villagers were killed by landslides. At least one resident died when mud and debris struck a main road on the small Nias island.

“With many missing and some remote areas still unreachable, the death toll was likely to rise,” Walintukan said.

How are rescuers conducting operations?

Television reports showed rescue personnel using jackhammers, circular saws, farm tools, and sometimes their bare hands to dig through areas covered in thick mud, rocks, and uprooted trees. Rescuers in rubber boats searched rivers and helped children and older people who were forced onto the roofs of flooded homes and buildings.

Flooding also affected other parts of the archipelago, including Aceh and West Sumatra, where thousands of houses were submerged, some up to their roofs, the disaster agency said.

What is the situation in Aceh and West Sumatra?

In Central Aceh, torrential rains triggered landslides in three villages on Wednesday, and rescuers recovered at least nine bodies, said district chief Halili Yoga.

He called on the local disaster agency to deploy an excavator to pull out at least two people buried under mud. Aceh’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said nearly 47,000 people were displaced by floods in the province, forcing around 1,500 residents to flee to temporary shelters.

In West Sumatra province, thousands of homes were submerged, including more than 3,300 houses in Padang Pariaman district, forcing approximately 12,000 residents into temporary shelters, the local disaster mitigation agency reported.

Rescuers recovered at least 23 bodies and five missing persons by Thursday, including six people who drowned in Lumin Park in Padang.

Scores of rescue personnel searching the Anai Valley Waterfall area in Tanah Datar district retrieved seven bodies from mud, rocks, and trees, including a child, Padang’s Search and Rescue Office reported. In Agam district, rescue teams and volunteers recovered 10 bodies of people swept away by floods in Malalak village, while five villagers remain missing, said relief coordinator Hendri.

Lingga Sari, a resident of Malalak, recounted the moment the flash flood struck as she tried to put her restless child to sleep.

“Suddenly I heard a rumbling sound that kept getting louder,” said Lingga, the mother of a one-year-old boy. Stepping outside with her child in her arms, she saw neighbours gathering in panic, shouting warnings of a sudden torrent. She and others rushed to a small prayer house at a nearby intersection, but floodwaters quickly surged.

“We had to run again, racing through the rising water toward the rice field,” Lingga said.

Which areas remain isolated and difficult to access?

Agam district chief Benny Warlis told The Associated Press that around 200 residents remain isolated in landslide-hit Jorong Taboh village on a hillside. Authorities have yet to confirm the number of people left homeless, dead, or missing as all routes to the area are cut off.

“We are facing difficulties verifying data on victims and those missing because access to the village, located on a steep hill, is completely blocked,” Warlis said.

Why are floods and landslides frequent in Indonesia?

Heavy seasonal rain from October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.

AP inputs