JAYAPURA, Indonesia — Flash flood and mudslides triggered by days of torrential downpours tore through mountainside villages in Indonesia’s easternmost province, killing at least 50 people and injuring 59 others, disaster officials said Sunday. The disaster in Papua province’s Jayapura district submerged hundreds of houses in neck-high water and mud, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. The floods and slides also destroyed roads and bridges, hampering rescue efforts. Television footage showed hundreds of rescuers and members of the police and military evacuating residents to shelters at a government office. Seasonal downpours cause frequent landslides and floods and kill dozens each year in Indonesia, a chain of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.

Source: National Post March 17, 2019 05:26 UTC