Floods, landslides kill 24 people in Indonesia

He said seven people were killed in Kebumen district and six in Banjarnegara district, and one each in three other districts.

The dead included two 10-year-olds and a pregnant woman, police said.

The added that the Central Java administration, together with the Central Java Disaster Mitigation Agencies (BPBD), was prioritizing the evacuation and handling of refugees, assuring reporters and residents that supplies were sufficient to cater to all those who needed them.

Landslides have also blocked roads that hampered access to the affected areas.

Five machinery equipment and a drone were deployed to help the search and rescue operation, he added.

Indonesian soldiers search for landslide victims at Caok village in Purworejo, Central Java province, Indonesia, June 19, 2016.

With heavy rain continuing to hit the area on Saturday evening, rescue efforts were postponed to yesterday because of fear of more landslides.

People stand in front of a flooded area in Kampung Sewuresidential area in Solo, Central Java province, Indonesia, June 19, 2016. The lack of access also means rescuers can not haul in heavy equipment to clear the debris. Mud avalanches have buried people inside their homes. Emergency crews were trying to clear roads of felled trees and rocks dumped by huge landslides, an Agence France-Presse journalist at the scene said.

Flooding and landslides commonly occur in Indonesia, which includes 250 million people and 17,000 islands. “Nine bodies were retrieved”, Sutopo said in a statement.

On TV villagers were shown seeking refuge on rooftops from the rising water, while their homes and cars were submerged in murky brown water.

Landslides are a common occurrence in Indonesia, a vast tropical archipelago plagued by torrential downpours and natural disasters.