While the death toll is at least 80, local officials say that they fear that the death toll could possibly rise. Thousands of Indonesians were forced to seek shelter after the floods either washed their homes away or that they were buried in the landslides. Both disasters are very common in Indonesia.
Deforestation of the area is blamed for the cause of the regular floods and landslides as a result of the heavy rains. This comes on the third anniversary of the tsunami that came leaving 220,000 Indonesians either dead or missing.
The floors rode across the region on Wednesday coming after seasonal rains and high tides. Several areas of Java were struck by the landslides.
The worst incident reported was at a dinner where people were celebrating the clean-up of a home that was covered in mud.
Eko Prayitno, the rescue chief said to the Associated Press: “They were having dinner together when they were hit by another landslide. At least 61 people were buried.”