Flash Floods in Java Claim 17 Lives, 8 Missing

At least 17 bodies have been recovered after a flash flood on the Indonesian island of Java, with eight individuals still unaccounted for. The disaster struck on Monday due to torrential rains, causing rivers to overflow and inundating the villages of Pekalongan regency with mud and rocks. Petungkriyono village suffered the most, according to Bergas Catursasi from the local Disaster Management Agency. Eleven injured villagers have been hospitalized.

Efforts to locate the missing were hindered by adverse weather and difficult terrain as rescue personnel utilized heavy machinery and manual labor. Catursasi highlighted that some individuals swept away were engaged in river fishing or seeking shelter from the rain. Both villagers and vehicles vanished in the catastrophic conditions, which also caused a landslide that buried homes and obliterated critical infrastructure, including two main bridges.

Indonesia, an archipelago prone to natural disasters due to its geography, frequently experiences heavy rains from October to March. This season's severe weather has included flash floods last month in the Sukabumi district of West Java province that claimed 12 lives and November's deadly landslides in North Sumatra. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)