28-11-2024 (JAKARTA) Flash floods and devastating landslides have claimed at least 27 lives across North Sumatra province, Indonesian authorities reported today, as rescue teams continue their desperate search for survivors trapped in a mudslide-engulfed minibus.
The natural disasters, triggered by relentless torrential rainfall over the past week, have struck four districts in the province, causing widespread destruction and displacing numerous residents. Police spokesperson Hadi Wahyudi confirmed that the most recent tragedy occurred yesterday in Deli Serdang village, where a catastrophic landslide killed seven people and left 20 others injured.
Emergency response teams are currently concentrating their efforts on a treacherous interprovince road where several vehicles, including a minibus, were buried under tonnes of mud and debris. The exact number of passengers remains unknown, adding urgency to the ongoing rescue operation.
“Our primary focus today is locating missing individuals and clearing blocked roadways,” Wahyudi stated, noting that heavy machinery has been deployed to assist in the recovery efforts. Prior to the Deli Serdang incident, rescuers had already recovered 20 bodies from earlier disasters, with two people still unaccounted for.
The devastating weather system has left a trail of destruction across the region, damaging homes, religious buildings, and agricultural land. In Medan, the provincial capital, severe flooding has disrupted local elections, forcing several polling stations to postpone voting.
Indonesia’s meteorological agency has issued stark warnings about the likelihood of continued extreme weather conditions through the remainder of 2024, attributing the increased rainfall to the La Niña weather phenomenon affecting the vast island nation.
