On Indonesia’s Sumatra island, flash floods and landslides have left at least 26 people dead and 11 missing

On Indonesia’s Sumatra island, heavy rains created flash floods and landslides that resulted in at least 26 fatalities and 11 missing, according to authorities on Monday. As the waters started to subside, rescuers found additional victims.

Since Thursday, nine districts and towns in the West Sumatra province have been flooded by surging floods and monsoon rains. A river in the Pesisir Selatan area burst its banks and tore through mountainous settlements late on Friday due to a significant mudslide.

According to the National Disaster Management Agency, highways clogged by heavy mud and debris, broken bridges, and power shortages have hindered relief operations.

The number of fatalities has increased to 26, according to agency spokesman Abdul Muhari, who stated that additional dead have been found by rescuers, mostly in the hardest-hit villages in Pesisir Selatan and its adjoining Padang Pariaman district.

At least 14 dwellings were buried by landslides, he said. Rescuers were still looking for the eleven residents who were reported missing, and at least two of them were hurt.

More than 37,000 homes and structures in the West Sumatra province have been inundated by monsoon rains, according to Muhari. Flash floods destroyed at least three dwellings and damaged 666 more.

According to the agency, floods also destroyed two irrigation system units, thirteen highways, and 45 mosques in addition to injuring 26 bridges, 25 schools, and 113 hectares (279 acres) of rice fields and 300 square meters (3,220 square feet) of plantation land.

In Indonesia, an archipelago country of more than 17,000 islands, heavy rains often result in landslides and flash floods. Millions of people live in hilly regions or close to floodplains.