Floods kill 31, thousands displaced in Indonesia

Floods and landslides from torrential rains in Indonesia have killed at least 31 people and displaced thousands in the past few days, the country’s disaster agency said Monday.

It said 29 people have died in Bengkulu province on the island of Sumatra over the weekend. Two people died from flooding in parts of the capital Jakarta last week and more than 2,000 were displaced.

In Bengkulu, 13 people are missing and more than 12,000 have fled their inundated homes, the agency said.

Thousands of people are involved in the search and rescue effort, it said, but distribution of aid has been hampered by power cuts, inaccessible roads and large distances between various disaster-hit areas.

The highest number of deaths was in central Bengkulu where a landslide killed nearly two dozen people.

Deforestation, reduced water catchment areas and inappropriate land use in high-risk areas have increased vulnerability to floods, according to the disaster agency.