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Cyclone kills 19 on Indonesian island of Java

Wednesday, 29 November 2017 9:40 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 29 November 2017 9:40 AM ]

Villagers walk in flood waters after heavy rain hit Hadiwarno Village in Pacitan, Indonesia, on November 28, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

A tropical cyclone killed 19 people on the Indonesian island of Java, officials said on Wednesday, with most of the victims caught under a landslide.

Landslides claimed 15 lives in east and central Java, while four others perished in floods unleashed by Cyclone Cempaka.

Video footage showed rivers overflowing and roads and villages submerged in brown water after the storm struck on Tuesday.

"Nineteen people have died, thousands of homes have been flooded and other damage has been caused," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the Disaster Mitigation Agency, said on Twitter.

The destruction from the cyclone comes as the rumbling Mount Agung volcano on the neighboring resort island of Bali threatens to erupt, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Cempaka is expected to move away from Indonesia later Thursday, but more flooding and landslides could follow in its wake, the agency said, adding that it urgently needs blankets, clothes and inflatable boats.

Indonesia is prone to natural disasters and is often hit by floods and landslides.

A landslide on Bali in February killed 12 people, including three children. In September last year, almost 30 people died in devastating floods and landslides in Garut, West Java.

(Source: Agencies)

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