Floods on the Indonesian island of Sumatra have killed at least 17 people with nine missing after days of heavy rain-triggered floods and landslides on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, authorities said on Sunday (Apr 28).
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the national disaster management agency, said torrential rain that has poured over the province since Friday afternoon has caused rivers to overflow and triggered landslides in many parts of Bengkulu.
Over 10,000 people have been evacuated while hundreds of buildings, bridges and roads have been damaged by the severe weather which affected nine districts or towns across Bengkulu province, officials said.
A “secondary disaster” in the form of skin diseases and acute respiratory infection due to poor hygiene and a lack of clean water was possible, he added.
Landslides and floods are common in Indonesia, especially during the monsoon season between October and April, when rains lash the vast Southeast Asian archipelago.
A supplementary problem has come for residents of Bogor, a satellite city of Jakarta, with about 14 pythons set loose by a snake collector, due to the high waters. Six of the snakes – which were as long as four metres (13 feet) – have been found, but the remaining eight remain on the loose.
Landslides and floods are common in Indonesia, especially during the monsoon season between October and April, when rains lash the vast Southeast Asian archipelago.
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