Floods in Indonesia kill at least 5, mud hampers relief work

By AGUS BASUKI
Associated Press

KOTA BATU, Indonesia (AP) — Flash floods from torrential rains on Indonesia’s main island of Java have killed at least five people and four others are missing. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency says rivers overflowed their banks and inundated five hamlets in a city in East Java province. It previously said 15 people were swept away and five were later rescued. Rescuers are still searching for the missing people. Relief efforts were hampered by blocked roads covered with thick mud and debris. 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.