Indonesia Landslides Death Toll Hits 30 in Central Java

Rescuers in Indonesia's Central Java province recovered additional bodies from two separate landslides triggered by heavy rains, raising the confirmed death toll to 30 on Thursday as search operations continued amid ongoing challenges from wet weather.

The disasters struck within days of each other last week. In Cilacap district, torrential downpours last week unleashed mud and rocks that buried homes in three villages, including Cibeunying. Officials with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, known as BNPB, reported 20 deaths there, with three people still missing. In Banjarnegara district, a landslide hit Pandanarum village on Saturday after prolonged intense rainfall destabilized a hillside, compounded by a large spring and slope fractures. That event claimed 10 lives, according to BNPB spokesperson Abdul Muhari, with 18 individuals remaining unaccounted for.

Muhari stated that the Banjarnegara slide destroyed or washed away 48 houses, damaged 195 others, and injured seven residents. It displaced 934 people, who sought refuge in temporary shelters. In Cilacap, nearly 400 residents were evacuated, and local authorities announced plans to relocate 296 homes from the...