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World (as of 12/30/2007 6:23 PM)

 Rescue operations slow after Indonesian landslide

Reuters

JAKARTA - Hundreds of Indonesians camped in government offices on Sunday after their homes were destroyed in landslides on Java island, as rescuers struggled to dig through thick mud in their search for dozens of missing people.

Nearly 100 people were dead or missing after landslides triggered by torrential rains buried houses across the Central Java province this week, but rescue operations have moved at a slow pace because of the blanket of mud that has cut off roads.

Officials said two excavators and four water sprays were used to unearth the 6-7 meters of mud that covered the land in Tawangmangu area, worst hit by the landslides, while thousands of villagers pitched in with basic tools such as spades and hoes.

"This is a difficult place. We can't easily have excavators dropped in here," Colonel Ngakan Gede Sugiartha, who monitors the rescue operations, told Reuters.

Landslides and floods are frequent in Indonesia, where tropical downpours can quickly soak hillsides and years of deforestation often mean there is little vegetation to hold the soil.

Indonesia's leading environmental group, Walhi, has said ecological destruction caused by deforestation, land conversions and chaotic planning contributed to the disasters.

Floods up to two meters (6.5 feet) had also inundated several other districts on Java island, devastating homes and bringing misery to
residents, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate into temporary shelters.

A relief official said there were no fears of disease and there was enough food and medicines for people who had lost their homes.

"They have enough food, medicine, clothing and blankets sent to them," said Lieutenant Colonel Mustain of the military search and rescue team


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