Death toll in Indonesian flash flood rises to nine
The death toll from flash floods that hit a province on Indonesia’s Sumatra island has risen to nine, with one person still missing, an official said on Monday.
The flooding that followed heavy rain in Bengkulu on Sunday knocked down a suspension bridge and swept away many people, said Abdul Malik, the head of the provincial search and rescue agency.
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“This morning we found two more bodies, bringing the death toll to nine,’’ he said.
One person was still unaccounted for, he added.
The country’s meteorology agency had issued a weather forecast on Friday warning that heavy rainfall was likely in many parts of Indonesia for the next week.
The agency said there was continued cyclonic circulation around the Karimata Strait, which separates the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, leading to more clouds appearing over some parts of western Indonesia.
Clouds also loomed over parts of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua.
Floods and landslides are common in Indonesia during the rainy season.
