DENPASAR, Indonesia: Indonesian rescuers recovered the bodies of at least 11 people while 13 people were missing Wednesday after flash floods struck two provinces of the island nation, authorities said.
Torrential rains beginning Monday caused flooding and landslides in East Nusa Tenggara province and on the tourist island of Bali.
Three members of a family were found dead after their house was swept away and five people were missing Wednesday in the Nagekeo district of East Nusa Tenggara, officials said.
In Bali, rescuers retrieved eight bodies from several areas and eight residents were missing Wednesday, according to Muhammad Iqbal Simatupang, the police chief in Bali’s provincial capital of Denpasar.
Rain has caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through nine cities and districts in Bali. Mud, rocks and trees tumbled onto mountainside hamlets and rising rivers submerged at least 112 neighborhoods and resulted in several landslides, Bali’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement.
Four people were in a building that collapsed and was swept away in the Kumbasari market area of South Denpasar, said Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of Bali’s Search and Rescue Agency.
Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed cars floating in muddy waters while soldiers and rescuers in rubber boats helped children and older people who were forced onto the roofs of flooded homes and buildings.
Severe flooding inundated thousands of homes and buildings in residential areas and tourist spots. Authorities have cut electricity and water, prompting hotels, restaurants, hospitals and other public facilities to use generators, Bali Gov. Wayan Koster said.
There have been landslides in 18 neighborhoods of Karangasem, Gianyar and Badung districts and swept through at least 15 shops and houses and damages several roads and bridges, he said.
“This disaster also caused material losses for traders and tourism businesses,” Koster said, adding that more than 800 people were in temporary shelters after floodwater reached up to 2.5 meters (8 feet) in places.
National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said flash floods in Nagekeo swept away villagers and vehicles passing through devastated villages and triggered a landslide that blocked three roads, killing at least three villagers and four people were missing.
The severe weather and rugged terrain hampered rescue efforts, he said, noting that the flooding in Nagekeo also destroyed two bridges, two government offices, a plantation, rice fields and livestock, Muhari said.
Heavy seasonal rain from about September to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia.
Flash floods in Indonesia leave at least 11 dead and 13 missing
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Flash floods in Indonesia leave at least 11 dead and 13 missing
- Three members of a family were found dead after their house was swept away and five people were missing Wednesday in the Nagekeo district
- In Bali, rescuers retrieved eight bodies from several areas and eight residents were missing
Kyrgyzstan parliament speaker resigns after spy chief sacking
- Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness
BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan’s parliament speaker said Thursday he would step down, two days after President Sadyr Japarov dismissed the Central Asian country’s powerful secret service chief and arrested political figures who called for early elections.
In a surprise move, Japarov had sacked his one-time close ally — spy chief Kamchybek Tashiev — in a decision Bishkek said was meant to “prevent division in society.”
Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness, though marked by political volatility.
Rights groups have accused him of authoritarian tendencies, as he seeks to assert his control and cast himself as a bringer of stability.
Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu — close to the sacked security boss — told MPs he would step down, insisting that he was not resigning under pressure.
“Reforms initiated by the president must be carried out. Political stability is indispensable,” he said.
Kyrgyzstan has in recent years been de-facto governed by the Japarov-Tashiev tandem.
Both came to power in the wake of the 2020 revolution — the third since Bishkek gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Several NGOs have in recent months denounced the deterioration of freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.
Japarov had unexpectedly sacked Tashiev and three of his deputies on Tuesday, also weakening the powers of the secret services.
Japarov rarely speaks publicly. His spokesman had said the decision was taken “in the interests of the state, with the aim of preventing divisions within society, including between government structures, and to strengthen unity.”
Tashiev was in Germany for health treatment when the sacking was announced and had said it was a “total surprise” to him.
The decision came the day after the publication of an open letter from 75 political figures and ex-officials calling to bring forward presidential elections — scheduled for January 2027.
Five of those who signed the letter — which criticized the economic situation in the country — were arrested Wednesday on charges of organizing mass riots.
