JAKARTA: At least seven people have been killed, and 82 others are missing after a landslide struck the West Bandung region of Indonesia’s West Java province, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said on Saturday.
Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said search and rescue operations were underway, though efforts were being hampered by unstable ground and difficult terrain.
The latest landslide comes just weeks after deadly floods and landslides killed more than 1,170 people across several parts of Indonesia, including the provinces of North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh, underscoring the country’s vulnerability to extreme weather and natural disasters.
The landslide was triggered by days of intense rainfall, officials said. Indonesia’s weather agency, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), warned that heavy downpours are expected to continue for at least another week, raising concerns about further landslides and flooding in vulnerable areas.
Rescue and recovery operations are being led by Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), which said efforts were complicated by the large number of missing people, unstable soil conditions and the rugged terrain in the affected area. Search teams have been deployed, but authorities cautioned that progress may be slow due to ongoing weather risks.
Authorities have urged residents in high-risk areas to remain alert and to follow official warnings, advising the public to monitor updates from BNPB and BMKG as extreme weather conditions persist.
