At least 44 people died and nine others were injured following sudden floods due to heavy rains that hit the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia, the spokesman for the national agency for disaster management said. Raditya Jati, hinting that the death toll could rise further.
"There are 44 dead and nine injured" in the eastern part of the island and "many ... are still under the mud," the spokesman said.
Torrential rains caused flooding in several areas of the island around 1:00 am, a few hours before the start of the Easter celebrations.
The spokesman explained that dozens of houses have been invaded by mud and bridges and roads are inaccessible in the eastern part of the island.
Flores could now only be reached by sea, from the nearby island of Adonara, but so far "rainfall and heavy storms have not allowed the crossing", continued Jati.