Indonesia: Toll in Java landslides, floods hits 101 with 54 people missing

Jakarta_(dpa) _ Landslides and floods that struck Indonesia's main island of Java last week killed 101 people and left 54 others missing, the Health Ministry said Thursday as waters receded in the worst-hit areas.

Seasonal torrential rains across Central and East Java provinces triggered landslides that engulfed homes and caused floods along the island's longest river, which displaced tens of thousands of people, scores of whom remained in shelters.

In Central Java, the ministry said, 78 people were killed and nine were missing after rescue workers on Thursday recovered the body of the last person missing under tons of mud in the Karanganyar district, the worst-hit area.

In East Java, at least 23 people were killed and 45 others were missing, it said.

More than 129,000 people were affected by last week's floods and landslides in both provinces with about 50,000 people displaced and occupying temporary shelters provided by the local government and private institutions while the rest were forced to stay near their devastated homes because their villages were cut off by floodwaters.

While waters had receded in several areas and people had returned home to start cleaning up, floodwaters had submerged thousands of homes in the East Java districts of Tuban and Gresik in the past several days as the Bengawan Solo River overflowed its banks.

Landslides are frequent in Indonesia, where years of deforestation have left hillsides vulnerable to collapse. Tropical downpours can quickly soak those stripped of the vegetation that had once held their soil in place. Environmentalists have warned that logging and a failure to reforest denuded land are to blame.

The rainy season in Indonesia hits a peak from December to February. dpa sh ls