Villagers carry a motorcycle across a river overflowing with raging floodwaters following heavy rains in Lumajang near the Semeru volcano in East Java on May 8 2011. Floods and landslides are common in Indonesia, which is prone to frequent bursts of heavy rain.

JAKARTA - Ten people have been killed in flash flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an official said Wednesday, with a search ongoing for three others still missing in the disasters on Java island.

Torrential downpours triggered flash flooding in Garut in West Java early Wednesday, which quickly rose to around 2 metres (6.5 feet), national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.

He said preliminary data from the local disaster agency in Garut showed "eight people died and one person is still missing" after a river burst its banks.

Thirty others were injured in the district, four seriously, while hundreds were forced to abandon their homes as the water rose, he added.

Emergency shelters and temporary kitchens have been set up to assist those made homeless by the disaster.

Elsewhere in West Java heavy downpours caused landslides in Sumedang regency, killing two people and burying a suspected two others under an avalanche of mud and rock.

"The search for them continues," Sutopo said.

Landslides and flooding are common in Indonesia, a vast tropical archipelago prone to natural disasters and torrential downpours.

The country's disaster agency has warned people to be alert for disasters this wet season as a La Nina weather phenomenon threatens unseasonably heavy rain.

In June nearly 50 people died when heavy downpours sent torrents of water, mud and rock surging into villages in Central Java, another densely-populated province on Indonesia's main island.</s>JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Torrential rains have triggered floods and landslides on the Indonesian island of Java, killing at least 19 villagers.

National Disaster Management Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho says several people are still missing in West Java's Garut and Sumedang districts.

The worst hit was Garut district, where 16 people were found dead and eight others are still missing after two rivers overflowed Tuesday night.

Nugroho said Wednesday that about 1,000 villagers were evacuated to army barracks and other temporary shelters.

He said three villagers were killed in Sumedang and one person was still missing after landslides that buried two houses.

Rains frequently caused landslides and widespread flooding across much of Indonesia.</s>JAKARTA: The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Indonesia has risen to 26, an official said on Thursday, with hopes fading for 19 others still missing.

Aid has begun pouring into Garut in the west of Indonesia’s main island of Java, where 23 people died and 18 remain missing after torrential rain and fast-rising floods swept through the region, the national disaster agency said.

Receding flood waters revealed scenes of destruction, with houses reduced to rubble and upturned cars and debris strewn throughout muddy streets.

Among the dead or missing are more than a dozen children under 12 years of age, though several have yet to be formally identified, the agency said.

Relief teams and army personnel have moved into Garut to search for those still missing, while drones are assessing the scale of destruction from the air, disaster agency head Willem Rampangilei said in a statement.

“There is plenty of food and clean water available. The community is also helping out,” Rampangilei said, adding that a disaster report had been sent to President Joko Widodo.

Temporary shelters and makeshift kitchens have been established to assist the estimated 430 people left homeless, with blankets and clothing being trucked in by emergency crews.

Elsewhere in West Java, emergency crews were still searching for one person missing in the wake of a massive landslide in Sumedang district that killed three others, disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told AFP.

An avalanche of mud, rock and water tore through a village in Sumedang late Tuesday without warning, flattening homes and a mosque and burying people beneath rubble.

Landslides and flooding are common in Indonesia, a vast tropical archipelago prone to natural disasters and torrential downpours.

The country’s disaster agency has warned people to be alert for disasters this wet season as a La Nina weather phenomenon threatens unseasonably heavy rain.

In June nearly 50 people died when heavy downpours sent torrents of water, mud and rock surging into villages in Central Java, another densely-populated province on Indonesia’s main island. -AFP</s>JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Torrential rains triggered floods and landslides on the Indonesian island of Java, killing at least 19 villagers, an official said Wednesday.

Nine people are still missing in West Java’s Garut and Sumedang districts, said National Disaster Management Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

The worst-hit district was Garut, where 16 people were found dead and eight others are still missing after two rivers overflowed Tuesday night.

A list from the agency shows the dead in Garut include an 8-month-old baby, five other children and seven women.

Nugroho said about 1,000 villagers were evacuated to army barracks and other temporary shelters.

He said three villagers were killed in Sumedang and one person was still missing after landslides buried two houses and destroyed a mosque. About 100 villagers were evacuated.

A total of more than 30 villagers were injured in both districts, Nugroho said.

Rains frequently caused landslides and widespread flooding across much of Indonesia, an archipelago where millions of people live in mountainous areas or on flood plains near rivers.
Heavy rainfall, flooding, and landslides in the Indonesian province of West Java kill at least ten people and leave three others missing.