A powerful landslide triggered by days of relentless rain has killed at least six people in Indonesia’s Central Java province, while 17 others remain missing, according to state news agency Antara. The disaster struck on Thursday in Cilacap’s Cibeunying village, where heavy rainfall destabilised a hillside and sent tonnes of earth crashing down onto a cluster of homes.
Disaster management official Budi Irawan said the landslide buried a dozen houses under a deep layer of mud, rock, and debris. Emergency teams have been working continuously since the incident, but rescue operations remain extremely difficult and slow-moving. “We have found three more bodies, leaving only 17 more to be found. We have been working to the best of our ability,” Budi told Antara.
Authorities said search teams face severe challenges because many victims are believed to be buried between 3 and 8 metres (10 to 25 feet) below the rubble, making excavation dangerous. The unstable terrain, ongoing rainfall, and risk of further landslides have forced rescue workers to proceed cautiously. Excavators and heavy machinery have been deployed, but in several areas, rescuers are still digging manually to avoid causing additional collapses.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has sent additional personnel, including specialised search-and-rescue units equipped with detection tools, sniffer dogs, and emergency medical support. Local volunteers and village residents have also joined the effort, hoping to find relatives who were inside the houses when the landslide struck.
Indonesia’s wet season, which spans from September to April, has brought unusually intense rainfall this year. The country’s meteorological agency has warned that several regions—including Central Java—are at heightened risk of flash floods, landslides, and extreme weather events during this period.
The Cilacap tragedy is the second major landslide in Central Java this year. In January, a rain-induced landslide in Pekalongan killed at least 25 people, underscoring the region’s vulnerability to disasters caused by climate-driven weather extremes.
