Officials said thousands of people have been left homeless after their houses were submerged by floods or buried by landslides in villages near the Bengawan Solo river, which lies about 500 km from the capital, Jakarta.

About 40 people were missing after floods swept away a bridge in Madiun district in East Java province on Wednesday, a local police officer said. In neighboring Central Java province, about 1,000 rescuers, police and soldiers tried to unearth 26 people buried in mud from steep slopes in Tawangmangu, a hilly area that has been hardest hit by landslides on Java. Rescuers had to use manual equipment, spraying the mud with water to soften it.

"We are only left with basic tools, such as spades and ploughs, yet we face a 7-to 9-meter blanket of mud," local police chief Rikwanto told Reuters by telephone.

Workers pulled out 12 more bodies on Thursday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 48, said Heru Pratomo, head of the disaster relief agency in Karang Anyar district, of which Tawangmangu is part. Another body was found and 14 were still missing in two neighboring districts, rescue officials said.

 Source : Yahoo News