Floods in Indonesia leave more than 300 dead and 140 missing

At least 303 people have died and 143 are missing in the severe floods caused by torrential rains that have battered the Indonesian island of Sumatra in recent days. The National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) reported that the total death toll includes 166 deaths in North Sumatra and those recorded in Aceh (47) and West Sumatra (90). The number is expected to rise due to the high volume of missing persons: 51 in Aceh and 85 in West Sumatra. ‘This means that there are more than 60 additional deaths in a single day. This finding was made possible thanks to the search and rescue efforts of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas),’ said BNPB director Lieutenant General Suharyanto, as quoted by the IDN Times portal.