Indonesia Landslide Death Toll Rises to 25

The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia rose to 25 as rescuers found three more bodies on Friday. Devi RAHMAN / AFP
The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia rose to 25 as rescuers found three more bodies on Friday. Devi RAHMAN / AFP
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Indonesia Landslide Death Toll Rises to 25

The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia rose to 25 as rescuers found three more bodies on Friday. Devi RAHMAN / AFP
The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia rose to 25 as rescuers found three more bodies on Friday. Devi RAHMAN / AFP

The death toll from a landslide on Indonesia's main island of Java rose to 25 as rescuers found three more bodies on Friday, a search and rescue agency official said.

Intense rainfall on Monday in a mountainous area near Pekalongan city in Central Java province triggered the landslide, collapsing bridges and burying cars and houses.

"Overall, the victims who were found dead were 25 people, with a note that two people are still unidentified," Budiono, head of the search and rescue agency from nearby Semarang, told AFP.

If those two victims are among the list of missing people, there would be only one more person left to find, he said.

The two unidentified victims were found trapped under rocks and landslide materials, making it difficult for rescuers to recover their bodies, added Budiono, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

Bad weather was hampering search efforts, with the operation suspended on Friday afternoon to ensure the safety of rescue teams as rain and fog descended on the area.

The rescue operation is set to resume on Saturday, Budiono said, with rescuers focusing their search around a cafe where the victims are thought to have been buried as they sought shelter from the rain.

At least 13 people were also injured in the landslide, according to the national search and rescue agency Basarnas.

Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, typically between November and April, but some disasters caused by adverse weather have taken place outside that season in recent years.

Climate change has also increased the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.

In May, at least 67 people died after heavy rains caused flash floods in West Sumatra, pushing a mixture of ash, sand, and pebbles from the eruption of Mount Marapi into residential areas.



African Nations Seek to Connect 300 mln People to Power by 2030

Delegates attend the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman
Delegates attend the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman
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African Nations Seek to Connect 300 mln People to Power by 2030

Delegates attend the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman
Delegates attend the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman

Several African nations committed on Monday to open up their electricity sectors to attract investors and light up homes of 300 million people currently lacking power in the next six years.

The continent has the highest number of people without access to electricity globally and is racing to connect homes to power by 2030 under a plan dubbed "Mission 300" launched by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in April.

The push aims to unlock at least $90 billion in capital from multilateral development banks, development agencies, finance institutions, private businesses and philanthropies, according to the Rockefeller Foundation, which is part of the initiative, Reuters reported.

"We want to expand and rehabilitate our electricity grids using the least cost possible," said Kevin Kariuki, vice president for infrastructure at the AfDB during an energy summit of African heads of state in Tanzania's commercial capital.

Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Tanzania were among a dozen countries that committed to reform their electricity utility companies, push renewable energy integration and raise national electricity connection targets.

Multilateral development banks and commercial banks represented at the summit will use the country's commitments to persuade their clients to invest in Africa's energy sectors, said World Bank President Ajay Banga.

Providing 300 million people with access to electricity, half of those currently without power on the continent, is a crucial building block for boosting Africa's development by creating new jobs, Banga said.

The World Bank expects to spend $30-40 billion on the plan, Banga said, while the AfDB will provide $10-15 billion, and the rest will come from private investors and other sources.

"The World Bank will pay countries as part of our support only when they make the (regulatory and policy) changes," Banga said.

Private capital has in the past blamed unfriendly regulations, red tape and currency risks for making investments in Africa's electricity sector hard.

Half of the targeted new connections will get electricity from existing national grids, the World Bank and the AfDB said, while the other half will be from renewable energy sources, including wind and solar mini-grids.