Due to the flash floods caused by torrential rains, over 75 people have lost their lives along with dozens of people that are still missing in Indonesia and and its neighbouring country East Timor, as per the officials.

Massive destruction took place due to the flash floods caused by rains creating havoc from Flores Island in Indonesia to East Timor, forcing thousands of its people to flee to shelters. 

A lot of damage has been suspected as the floods and landslides left the dams overflowing, submerging a lot of houses in it. The rescue operation also got stuck, leaving rescuers finding it difficult to reach trapped people. 

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According to the spokesperson of Indonesia disaster management agency Raditya Djati, “There are 55 dead, but this number is very dynamic and will definitely change, while some 42 people are still missing,” as he spoke to MetroTV. 

In the neighbouring island country East Timor, around 21 people died due to the floods, out of which most of them were from its capital Dili, according to the officials.

Mud covered homes, bridges and roads in Indonesia’s East Flores municipality, where rescuers struggled to reach a remote and badly-hit area because of rains and strong waves.

Djati added that,”the mud and the extreme weather have become a serious challenge and the debris piling up has hampered the search and rescue team.”

Alfons Hada Bethan, head of the East Flores disaster agency said that, “The evacuees are spread out. They need medicine, food, blankets. We suspect many people are buried but it’s not clear how many are missing.”

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In Lembata, an island halfway between Flores and Timor, parts of some villages were swept down a mountainside by torrents of mud, ending up down on the shore of the ocean.

Earlier, road access had been cut off and local officials were forced to deploy heavy equipment to reopen the roads.

Fatal landslides and flash floods are common across the Southeast Asian archipelago during the rainy season.

The country’s disaster agency has estimated that 125 million Indonesians — nearly half of the country’s population — live in areas at risk of landslides. The disasters are often caused by deforestation, according to environmentalists.