Indonesia flooding kills at least 8, destroys dozens of homes
Two rubber boats are ready to assist in an evacuation at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout as Jakarta’s main streets are inundated by floodwater.
At least eight people were killed in Indonesia on Monday as dozens of homes were destroyed in flooding and landslides on the Maluku province islands.
"Eight were killed and five are still missing. Another 10 were injured," said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
A search and rescue operation is still underway, with police and military personnel scouring the rubble for survivors.
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Triggered by heavy rain, the floods and landslides swept away 31 homes and buried others in villages around the city of Ambon.
The natural disaster came less than a week after another downpour caused an earthen dam to collapse, killing one person and forcing thousands to flee their villages. Crews were still repairing the dam when the new bout of rain hit.
The latest flooding came at the peak of Indonesia's rainy season, which continues until the end of August.
Floods and landslides are common in Indonesia, which has frequent bursts of heavy rain. Logging and a failure to reforest denuded land have been blamed for worsening the problem.