Dozens killed as heavy rains cause landslides, flooding in Indonesia


Heavy rains in eastern Indonesia have triggered landslides and caused flash flooding, leaving at least 55 people dead and displacing thousands.
In the East Nusa Tenggara province, a mudslide slammed into dozens of houses in Lamenele village shortly after midnight on Monday, The Associated Press reports, killing at least 38 people and injuring five. On Lembata island, the rain caused cold lava to fall down the slopes of the Ili Lewotolok volcano, which last erupted in November. The cold lava hit multiple villages, leaving at least 11 people dead and 16 more buried under tons of rubble.
Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency on Monday said rescuers are having a hard time searching for survivors in areas that have been affected by mudslides and flooding because the roads are blocked by debris and the electricity keeps failing.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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