Damaged bridges and more rain hamper search operations in Indonesia

At least 48 people died and 88 were missing as rescue teams were struggling to reach affected areas in 12 cities and districts of North Sumatra province

Rescuers were hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment Friday after flash floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island left 79 people dead and dozens missing.

People walk past damaged houses at a village affected by flood in Malalak, West Sumatra, Indonesia. (AP)

A tropical cyclone causing the damage is expected to continue hitting the Southeast Asian nation for days, said Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency.

Monsoon rains caused rivers to burst their banks in North Sumatra province Tuesday. The deluge tore through mountainside villages, swept away people and submerged more than 3,200 houses and buildings, the National Disaster Management Agency said. About 3,000 displaced families fled to government shelters.

Elsewhere in the island's provinces of Aceh and West Sumatra, thousands of houses were flooded, many up to roofs, the agency said.

At least 48 people died and 88 were missing as rescue teams were struggling to reach affected areas in 12 cities and districts of North Sumatra province, the province's police spokesperson Ferry Walintukan said Friday. Mudslides that covered much of the area, power blackouts and lack of telecommunications were hampering the search efforts, he said.

Flash floods that struck 15 cities and districts in West Sumatra province left at least 22 people and 10 missing, the provincial police said in a statement.

West Sumatra's disaster mitigation agency reported the flooding submerged more than 17,000 homes, forcing about 23,000 residents to flee to temporary shelters. Rice fields, livestock and public facilities were also destroyed and bridges and roads cut off by floods and landslides isolated residents.

Authorities struggled to bring excavators and other heavy equipment over washed-out roads after torrential rains sent mud and rocks crashing onto the hilly hamlets in Aceh province, leaving at least nine people dead and two missing in three villages in Central Aceh district.

The extreme weather was driven by Tropical Cyclone Senyar, which formed in the Strait of Malacca, said Achadi Subarkah Raharjo, the Director of Aviation Meteorology at Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency.

He warned that unstable atmospheric conditions mean extreme weather could persist as long as the cyclone system remains active.

“We have extended its extreme weather warning due to strong water vapour supply and shifting atmospheric dynamics,” Raharjo said.

Senyar intensified rainfall, strong winds, and high waves in Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, and nearby areas before dissipating. Its prolonged downpours left steep, saturated terrains highly vulnerable to disasters, he said.

Seasonal rains frequently cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.