Indonesia: Floods, landslides kill 24 in Central Java

By Kathy Quiano and Euan McKirdy CNN

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- At least 24 people have died after heavy rains and floods triggered landslides in the Indonesian province of Central Java.

An additional 26 people remain missing, said spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho of the Indonesian Disaster Management Agency.

Heavy rains drenched several areas for much of Saturday, causing flooding and landslides in 16 towns and cities across the province.

The Bogowonto river in Purworejo was also swollen due to floodwaters.

Most of the landslides and flooding occurred in the Purworejo subdistrict, where 11 people died and 26 are reported missing. A search is underway for those still unaccounted for.

In one incident, truck passengers tried to clear debris from a small landslide that had blocked the road. A number of motorcycles were behind the truck when a bigger landslide hit them. Nine people died in that incident.

Disaster officials, the military and police joined forces with nongovernmental and volunteers to rescue and evacuate residents from affected areas.

Heavy rains and flooding also hit West Sumatra on Thursday and Friday, killing one person and displacing thousands. The floods there have since subsided.

June is usually relatively dry in the region, but the National Climatology, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has issued a warning for potential rain for late June and early July in five provinces.

High tides and waves are also predicted for the southern coast of Sumatra, Java and East Nusa Tenggara.

The weather anomalies are a result of several environmental factors leading to unstable atmospheric conditions and increased rainfall in Sumatra and Kalimantan, according to Nugroho.

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