At least 20 people have been killed by floods and landslides in Indonesia, and more victims are expected to be found in the debris

Jakarta – Rescue workers in western Indonesia on Tuesday used heavy equipment to pull out of weekend floods and landslides that killed at least 20 people, the national disaster agency said. In North Sumatra, the bodies of five missing people have been recovered from under a mountain of mud and debris, agency spokesman Abdul Mehri said in a statement.

“All the victims have been found dead,” he said on Tuesday, adding that 10 people were killed in landslides in Karoo district.

Heavy rains that started on Saturday wreaked havoc in four districts of North Sumatra, causing deadly floods and landslides.

Jaspri Nadek, the disaster chief in the worst-hit Karoo district, said that the victims have not yet been reported missing to the authorities.

“The landslide area provides access to the hot springs, so there is a possibility that tourists will get hit,” he told AFP on Tuesday. “We are still clearing mud and debris from the landslide while looking for more victims.”

In a village in Deli Sardang district, where four people have been found dead and two are missing, piles of mud, wood and rocks are strewn around the village where rescue operations are underway.

“The power was cut and there is no cell phone reception, making it difficult for us to communicate with rescue workers,” Iman Sitouros, a spokeswoman for the local search and rescue agency, told AFP.

He said that the authorities have also deployed heavy equipment to clear the debris.

The death toll rose to 20 on Tuesday after five bodies were found in Karoo district. The rest of the victims were found in South Tapanoli, Padang Laos and Deli Sardang districts.

Indonesia has experienced recent extreme weather events, which experts say are more likely, more severe and less predictable. Climate change.

In May, at least 67 people were killed after the eruption of Mount Marapi in West Sumatra sent a mixture of ash, sand and gravel into residential areas. Due to flooding.

Human-caused climate change has doubled the chance of a drenching storm like the one that hit Indonesia this week, and has taken to roads in the eastern Spanish region. Valencia in raging rivers That’s according to a partial analysis released on Oct. 31 by the World Weather Attribution Group, made up of dozens of international scientists who study, earlier this month. The role of global warming in extreme weather.