At least seven people have died and 82 remain missing after a landslide struck a village in Indonesia’s West Java province, according to the country’s disaster mitigation agency.
The landslide hit Pasirlangu village in the Cisarua sub district of West Bandung regency in the early hours of Saturday, following torrential rainfall that had battered the region overnight.
Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency reported the figures, with spokesperson Abdul Muhari saying search and rescue efforts were being intensified.
“The number of missing persons is high; we will try to optimise our search and rescue efforts today,” Muhari told Reuters.
Rescue teams, including personnel from the local regional disaster agency, were deployed to the site from early Saturday morning. Initial assessments confirmed that several homes were buried by the landslide, which was triggered by heavy overnight rain.
At least 24 people were evacuated safely from the affected area, according to updates from the disaster agency. Search operations are continuing amid difficult conditions, including unstable ground and ongoing rainfall.
Authorities said efforts would continue over the weekend, with the focus on locating survivors and recovering those still missing.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency had issued warnings of extreme weather across West Java from Friday, including prolonged heavy rain and an increased risk of flash floods and landslides. Local media outlets, including Kompas.com, reported the alerts ahead of the disaster.
Heavy rainfall has also affected other parts of Java. In Jakarta, 189 millimetres of rain fell on Friday alone, following 267 millimetres recorded on 18 January.
Saturday’s incident is the second major landslide on Java in recent months. On 13 November, 11 people were killed in Cibeunying village after days of intense rainfall. In December, widespread flooding and landslides across Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra provinces resulted in more than 1,170 deaths.
Indonesia frequently experiences landslides during the rainy season, particularly in mountainous areas such as Java, where steep terrain and water saturated soil increase the risk of slope failure.
Disaster response efforts are coordinated by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency and involve multiple agencies, including military and police units. Officials have urged residents in high risk areas to remain alert and to follow evacuation instructions as extreme weather conditions persist.
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