Rescuers on Tuesday searched through debris and mud for victims of flash floods that inundated villages in Indonesia’s East Java as the death toll rose to 57, officials said.
Thousands sought shelter, medical care and food in the wake of the disaster, which environmentalists have blamed on rampant illegal logging on the island of Java, one of the world’s most densely populated.
Local police officer Agus Ilham said the hunt for more victims after the floods, which swept away hundreds of homes in Jember district, 800km east of the capital, continued in poor weather.
Rescue efforts were also hampered by transport difficulties, with some villages cut off because of the flooding, he said.
Erman Harjoprayitno, from the disaster-coordinating agency in the city of Surabaya, said the toll has risen to 57 dead and 50 injured.
”The injured have been taken to local clinics and hospitals,” he said by telephone.
The floods followed two days of monsoon rains that caused a river to swell and burst its banks.
A local journalist, Budi Sugiharto, said the scene in the flooded zone was reminiscent of the December 2004 tsunami that devastated Indonesia’s Aceh province on Sumatra island.
About 168 000 Acehnese were killed in the catastrophe.
”The devastation in areas near the river banks reminds me of the destruction caused by the tsunami. Houses were flattened, with only the foundations remaining,” he said.
He said rescuers working only with hand tools have built emergency bridges to provide access to isolated areas in the hills and move villagers to safer areas. Children clung to soldiers as they were removed from the inundated zones.
About 4 000 people made homeless have sought refuge in schools, mosques and government buildings, Sugiharto said.
More than 100 people in isolated village of Kemiri are desperate for food, the state Antara news agency reported.
”The condition is very worrying, especially among children,” resident Salimah was quoted as saying, adding that the villagers have not eaten since Monday.
Hundreds of refugees at the Kemiri village hall are receiving medical treatment, the agency said.
Chalid Muhammad, chairperson of prominent Indonesian environmental group Walhi, blamed deforestation for the tragedy.
”Floods on Java are closely linked to the worsening condition of forests on the island,” he said.
He said about half of the 3,1-million hectares of forests on the densely populated island of Java had been destroyed due to land conversion and illegal logging.
”Unless action is taken to address the problem, we can imagine what will happen to Java in the future. The government must make a breakthrough to save Java island, where 65% of Indonesia’s population live,” he said.
Severe flooding is not unusual during Indonesia’s rainy season.
More than 200 people were killed in 2003 when flash floods tore through Bahorok, a popular riverside resort in North Sumatra, destroying more than 450 buildings. — Sapa-AFP