Landslide kills 7 in Indonesia

By Adelline Tri Putri Marcelline

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) - Landslides caused by heavy rains killed at least seven people and injured another nine at a gold mine in Indonesia's western Sumatra province late Monday.

The country's Regional Disaster Management Agency said one person is still missing after heavy rains that led to landslides lashed the South Solok regency.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the agency's spokesperson Fikri, who goes by only one name, said that landslides occurred after heavy rains flushed the area from Sunday afternoon to late Monday.

He said that after receiving the report about the disaster, the Quick Reaction Team (TRC), together with the army and police, went to the site to evacuate the victims.

"The victims have been taken from the site to the Bidar Alam Community Health Center," said Fikri.

The country's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said they had observed the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) phenomenon and other equatorial wave phenomena, which is responsible for the changing weather conditions.

The agency said this condition would lead to more rains with moderate to heavy category index between May 10-17.

Noting that western Sumatra province was expected to be affected by this condition, it warned that floods or flashes with the alert category might hit several regions in the country for the next three days.

*Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo