Floods, landslides spread in central Indonesia, 35 dead, 48 missing

At least 35 people have been killed and 48 others are missing as floods and landslides have spread in central Indonesia, a government official said Thursday.

Floods and landslides that initially hit Morowali Regency in Central Sulawesi Province have now spread to nearby South Sulawesi's Luwu Regency and North Sulawesi's South Minahasa Regency, said Rustam Pakaya, head of the Crisis Management Center of the Health Ministry.

Pakaya said at least 35 people have been killed in the three regencies, while 48 others are missing, believed to have been buried under landslides.

About 45,000 people have been affected by the disaster, Pakaya said.

Four days after the floods and landslides first occurred, medical teams and rescuers are still struggling to reach the affected areas, where villages were swept away by floods or buried in landslides.

Deforestation has been blamed for floods and landslides in Indonesia during the rainy season, which usually starts in October and ends in April.