At least 16 people have been confirmed dead, and six are still missing after heavy rain caused flash floods and landslides on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, over the weekend. Torrential downpours triggered mudslides that swept through mountainside villages in North Sumatra, devastating entire communities, destroying homes, and damaging agricultural land.

Authorities reported that emergency teams, including police, soldiers, and rescue workers, have been working tirelessly to search through the debris for survivors and the missing. Excavators, farm equipment, and manual labor have been used to sift through tons of mud, rocks, and trees in affected areas. Local disaster management officials confirmed that six bodies were found in the Semangat Gunung resort area, where two houses and a cottage were buried by a landslide on Sunday. Nine others were injured but managed to escape. Additionally, two bodies were recovered from a river in South Tapanuli district after flash floods swept away at least 10 houses, damaging approximately 150 homes and buildings.

The flash floods also caused significant damage to more than 130 hectares of farmland, further compounding the disaster's impact. Rescue operations continued Monday, with the search for four missing people, including two children, still ongoing. This seasonal weather phenomenon is common in Indonesia, where rains from October to March frequently lead to flooding and landslides in the mountainous regions.

In another part of Sumatra, in the Harang Julu village of Padang Lawas district, a landslide buried several homes, killing a family of four, including two children. Rescue teams pulled their bodies from the rubble on Saturday, while at least three other residents were rescued from the debris.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, is prone to natural disasters, particularly during the rainy season. Last December, a similar disaster struck in North Sumatra, leaving 12 people missing after flash floods and landslides devastated local villages near Lake Toba.