Several houses were buried in four separate locations around Tarakan on Borneo island after hours of heavy rain and strong winds.
Five children were among the dead while four other people were rescued alive.
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“The heavy rain and strong wind triggered landslides in several locations at almost the same time and some people could not save themselves,” local search and operation chief Amiruddin, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP on Monday.
“Among the victims we retrieved the body of a father and his 10-month-old twin boys,” he added.
At least 19 homes were damaged across Tarakan.
Fatal landslides and flash floods are very common across the Indonesian archipelago, where seasonal downpours are frequent and relentless.
Dozens of people died in July after flash floods and landslides hit part of South Sulawesi province.
Indonesia’s disaster agency has estimated that 125 million Indonesians — nearly half the country’s population — live in areas at risk of landslides.
AFP
