A village in Tana Toraja regency, South Sulawesi Province where the landslide hit. Photo: Handouts
Not less than 19 people were found dead and other two are missing after a landslide that occurred in central Indonesia, local authorities said on Sunday.
According to the report, those who were dead and the two survivors were conveyed from two landslide-hit villages in Tana Toraja regency, South Sulawesi province on Saturday evening, said local disaster agency head Sulaiman Malia.
"There have been 19 fatalities, with 4 deaths in South Makale and 15 others in Makale villages," Malia said on Sunday.
"Currently, we are still searching for other victims," he said, adding that there are still two individuals reported missing, presumably buried under the landslide debris.
Tana Toraja and its surrounding areas have been "continuously hit by heavy rainfall, especially over the past week, with hardly any stop," Malia added.
The heavy rainfall eroded the soil of residential areas located on mountain slopes, leading to landslides that buried residents' homes, he said.
Indonesia is generally known to be prone to landslides during the rainy season and the problem has been aggravated in some places by deforestation, with prolonged torrential rain causing flooding in some areas of the archipelago nation.
Last month flash floods and landslides on Sumatra island killed at least 30 people with scores still missing.
A landslide and flooding swept away dozens of houses and destroyed a hotel near Lake Toba on Sumatra in December, killing at least two people.
Source: AFP
印尼登陸後至少19人死亡2人失踪
地方當局週日表示，印尼中部發生山體滑坡，已造成至少 19 人死亡，另外兩人失蹤。
當地救災機構負責人蘇萊曼·馬利亞表示，據報道，週六晚上，死者和兩名倖存者從南蘇拉威西省塔納托拉雅縣的兩個遭受山體滑坡襲擊的村莊被運出。
馬利亞週日表示：“已有 19 人死亡，其中南馬卡萊有 4 人死亡，馬卡萊村莊有 15 人死亡。”
「目前，我們仍在尋找其他受害者，」他說，並補充說，據報道仍有兩人失踪，推測可能被埋在山體滑坡廢墟下。
馬利亞補充說，塔納托拉雅及其周邊地區「持續遭受強降雨襲擊，尤其是在過去一周，幾乎沒有停止過」。
他說，強降雨侵蝕了山坡上居民區的土壤，導致山崩，掩埋了居民的房屋。
眾所周知，印尼在雨季容易發生山崩，而一些地方的森林砍伐又加劇了這個問題，長期的暴雨導致這個群島國家的一些地區發生洪水。
上個月，蘇門答臘島發生山洪和山崩，造成至少 30 人死亡，數十人仍下落不明。
12月，蘇門答臘島多巴湖附近的山體滑坡和洪水沖走了數十棟房屋，摧毀了一家酒店，造成至少兩人死亡。 （法新社）
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