Flash floods in Indonesia leave at least 11 dead and 13 missing

DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian rescuers recovered the bodies of at least 11 people while 13 people were missing Wednesday after flash floods struck two provinces of the island nation, authorities said.

Torrential rains beginning Monday caused flooding and landslides in East Nusa Tenggara province and on the tourist island of Bali.

Three members of a family were found dead after their house was swept away and five people were missing Wednesday in the Nagekeo district of East Nusa Tenggara, officials said.

In Bali, rescuers retrieved eight bodies from several areas and eight residents were missing Wednesday, according to Muhammad Iqbal Simatupang, the police chief in Bali’s provincial capital of Denpasar.

Rain has caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through nine cities and districts in Bali. Mud, rocks and trees tumbled onto mountainside hamlets and rising rivers submerged at least 112 neighbourhoods and resulted in several landslides, Bali’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement.

Four people were in a building that collapsed and was swept away in the Kumbasari market area of South Denpasar, said Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of Bali’s Search and Rescue Agency.

Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed cars floating in muddy waters while soldiers and rescuers in rubber boats helped children and older people who were forced onto the roofs of flooded homes and buildings.

Severe flooding inundated thousands of homes and buildings in residential areas and tourist spots. Authorities have cut electricity and water, prompting hotels, restaurants, hospitals and other public facilities to use generators, Bali Governor Wayan Koster said.

There have been landslides in 18 neighbourhoods of Karangasem, Gianyar and Badung districts and swept through at least 15 shops and houses and damages several roads and bridges, he said.

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