WGBA -Rain-triggered landslides kill 14 in Indonesia
Member Center:
Oil platform explodes, catches fire off La. coast; all 13 crew members are rescued from Gulf More>>
In early sign of promise, Israel, Palestinians agree to work on outline of final peace deal More>>
Arizona governor stumbles during debate with painful and lengthy pause More>>
Video of vehicle chase shows man jumping from van, getting shot by sheriff's deputies in Ohio More>>
Coast Guard backs off earlier report of oil sheen from Gulf platform explosion off La. coast More>>
East Coast braces for 125 mph winds, rain from Earl; watches and warnings from NC to Canada More>>
Israel, Palestinians to produce outline of final peace deal, agree to second round of talks More>>
Hurricane warning issued for Mass. as East Coast braces for weekend pounding by Earl More>>
Coast Guard: a mile-long oil sheen spreading from site of burning Gulf platform off La. coast More>>
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Torrential rains triggered a series of landslides on Indonesia's Sulawesi island, killing at least 14 residents and burying many more, a local official said Monday.
The downpours sent a mass of mud slamming into about 20 houses in the outskirts of the town of Palopo, South Sulawesi province, Mayor Pateddungi Tenri Ajeng said Monday.
Rescuers pulled 14 victims from under the earth and debris that hit one neighborhood overnight Sunday, he said. Police, soldiers and villagers continued to search for an unknown number of people still missing.
Several other landslides cut off access to the town, Tenri Ajeng said, but those slides were not believed to have caused damage or fatalities.
Several days of flooding cut off villages and submerged more than 3,600 houses in the area, local media reported, forcing people to seek higher ground.
Landslides and flooding kill scores of people every year during the monsoon season in Indonesia, a tropical archipelago with a population of 235million. Many people live and farm the fertile, but unstable mountain slopes.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
