Indonesia flood toll passes 100

The death toll from flash floods in eastern Indonesia has risen to 110. Bodies are still unclaimed in the mud four days after the disaster, an official said Friday. The town of Wasior in West Papua province was hit by a torrent of mud, rocks and logs on Monday after heavy rains.

Reuters

Officials say 80 people are missing and thousands of residents faced shortages of food, clean water, medicine and shelter amid growing fears of disease outbreaks. Rescue workers have not been able to clear huge piles of debris due to shortages of heavy equipment.

"We face difficulties removing dead bodies as our rescuers don't have enough excavators," local official Yappi Akwan said. "The town already smells of rotting bodies and we all have to wear masks. We hope there'll be a quick response. We need the town to be sprayed with disinfectant to ward off disease."

Some 4,000 people, or almost a third of the population in Wasior's three worst affected neighbourhoods, have fled to neighbouring districts.

Wasior is 240 kilometres southeast of Manokwari, the capital of West Papua province, one of the poorest parts of the Indonesian archipelago.

Survivors said many of Monday’s victims drowned or were crushed by boulders and logs, which had been felled by timber workers in nearby forests.