The fatal alchemy of mud, water and mere force took place in eastern Indonesia at around one o’clock on Sunday at around one o’clock in the morning, killing at least 41 people, officials said.
Flash floods and landslides flooded entire neighborhoods in East Nusa Tenggara province, which includes more than 560 islands. According to Raditya Jati, a spokeswoman for Indonesia’s national disaster relief agency, seven villages were badly affected. Twenty-seven people were missing, and nine were injured, he said.
Some of the worst damage was on the remote island of Adonara, where many residents were preparing to celebrate Easter Sunday. Rain and strong winds have been struggling since the previous day. The damage left dozens of homes under mud and water. According to Mr. Raditya cut off five bridges.
The rescue effort was hampered because the only access to Adonara is by sea, and the water is mixed due to the heavy rains, he said. But the priority is to ensure that survivors are relocated to areas that are safe from further floods or landslides.
“We are still coordinating with different departments,” he said. Raditya said. “We are currently focusing on the first response.”
East Nusa Tenggara is the only majority Roman Catholic province in Indonesia, which is the world’s most populous nation.
Every year, during the monsoon season, Indonesia supports disaster relief for water. But the country has other adversity. Indonesia is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, including volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, flash floods, landslides and severe storms, with thousands of inhabited islands on the seismically active ‘ring of fire’.
In recent years, the country has also been plagued by plane crashes, boat accidents and other transportation delays.
In January, landslides killed about 40 people on Java, Indonesia’s most populous island. A further mudslide struck after disaster management officials gathered to help with search and rescue efforts. The head of a local disaster relief agency and a captain in the Indonesian army were among those killed.
Constant deforestation in Indonesia has contributed to the risk of such disasters, which loosen the soil and run the risk of collapsing into deadly mud flow when torrential rain comes.
The national meteorological department had warned against high rain intensity before this weekend, said Mr. Raditya said. But many inhabitants of small, remote islands like Adonara have few safe havens.
“I think the biggest challenge is to use heavy equipment,” he said. Raditya said, citing efforts to excavate people and homes in hopes of finding survivors.
But given the communication challenges, Mr. Raditya said he was not sure if adequate equipment was available on Adonara.