Multiple landslides hit Indonesia’s Sulawesi island over the weekend, which led to at least 18 deaths. Rescue efforts to find missing people are still on and sniffer dogs have also been put to work. Meanwhile, the local government of South Sulawesi said that two people were admitted to a hospital and are in critical condition.
What caused the landslides?
The country’s disaster mitigation data said that the landslides were triggered by high-intensity rains that affected two villages in the region of Tana Toraja, in South Sulawesi, and destroyed a few homes.
Last month, at least 26 people were killed due to floods and landslides in Indonesia’s Sumatra island, and hundreds of homes were destroyed while thousands of people were displaced.
Topography of Indonesia –
Although the topography varies, Indonesia is mainly composed of coastal lowlands with islands such as Sumatra and Java which have large inland mountains. Moreover, there are 13,677 islands in Indonesia, out of which many are volcanic islands, which makes Indonesia more prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, and floods. For instance, Java has 50 active volcanoes.
(with agency inputs)