Indonesia’s Toll Rises to 62 from Deadly Sumatra Floods, 25 Still Missing 

Two women observe the aftermath of a flash flood through a hole in the wall of a house at Limo Kaum village, in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, on May 15, 2024. (AFP) 
Two women observe the aftermath of a flash flood through a hole in the wall of a house at Limo Kaum village, in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, on May 15, 2024. (AFP) 
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Indonesia’s Toll Rises to 62 from Deadly Sumatra Floods, 25 Still Missing 

Two women observe the aftermath of a flash flood through a hole in the wall of a house at Limo Kaum village, in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, on May 15, 2024. (AFP) 
Two women observe the aftermath of a flash flood through a hole in the wall of a house at Limo Kaum village, in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, on May 15, 2024. (AFP) 

The death toll from weekend flash floods and mud slides in Indonesia's West Sumatra province rose to 62 on Wednesday, authorities said, while rescuers were searching areas near rivers for 25 people who are still missing.

Officials said some of those earlier unaccounted for were found dead during the day, which lifted the toll from 58 reported in the morning.

A video shared by the national disaster management agency BNPB showed logs, rocks and mud strewn over roads, collapsed bridges and houses in Tanah Datar, one of the three districts in West Sumatra hit by the floods.

The disaster struck the area on Saturday evening when heavy rains unleashed flash floods, landslides, and cold lava flow - a mud-like mixture of volcanic ash, rock debris and water.

The cold lava flow, came from Mount Marapi, one of Sumatra's most active volcanoes. Its eruption in December killed more than 20 people and more eruptions have followed since.

BNPB will continue to search for the missing people and clean the main roads, its head Suharyanto said in a statement on Wednesday

Sisters Fitrawanis, 64, and Nurbaiti, 66, watched in tears the ruins of their brother's house in Tanah Datar. They said the brother, Rusdi, 60, was still missing after water swept him away when he tried to save his mother-in-law.

"I hope that his body can be found quickly, either alive or dead," Fitrawanis told Reuters. She said both in-laws and Rusdi's wife have been found dead.

At least 249 houses, 225 hectares (556 acres) of land, including rice fields, 19 bridges and most of main roads were damaged in three districts and one town.

Indonesia's meteorology agency BMKG said it planned to try to mitigate heavy rainfall expected for the next week in West Sumatra by "cloud seeding" to prevent rains in the worst affected areas.

Widely used in Indonesia, cloud seeding involves shooting salt flares into clouds to trigger rainfall in dry areas.



Mexico President Chides Trump: Mexican America ‘Sounds Nice’

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
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Mexico President Chides Trump: Mexican America ‘Sounds Nice’

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday suggested North America including the United States could be renamed "Mexican America" - an historic name used on an early map of the region - in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America."

"Mexican America, that sounds nice," Sheinbaum joked, pointing at the map from 1607 showing an early portrayal of North America.

The president, who has jousted with Trump in recent weeks, used her daily press conference to give a history lesson, flanked by old maps and former culture minister Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real.

"The fact is that Mexican America is recognized since the 17th century... as the name for the whole northern part of the (American) continent," Suarez del Real said, demonstrating the area on the map.

On the Gulf of Mexico, Suarez del Real said the name was internationally recognized and used as a maritime navigational reference going back hundreds of years.

Trump floated the renaming of the body of water which stretches from Florida to Mexico's Cancun in a Tuesday press conference in which he presented a broad expansionist agenda including the possibility of taking control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.

Sheinbaum also said it was not true that Mexico was "run by the cartels" as Trump said. "In Mexico, the people are in charge," she said, adding "we are addressing the security problem."

Despite the back and forth, Sheinbaum reiterated that she expected the two countries to have a positive relationship.

"I think there will be a good relationship," she said. "President Trump has his way of communicating."