Landslide buries at least 31 in central Indonesia

TUBAN, Indonesia: Search and rescue teams are searching for at least 31 people believed to have been buried by a landslide in Ponorogo district in east Java, head of district emergency section said.

"Until now, 31 residents were reported missing and allegedly buried under landslides," Head of Emergency Section of Ponorogo's Disaster Management Agency, Setyo Budiono told Anadolu Agency.

Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the landslide occurred Saturday morning, when locals were harvesting ginger under a 100 meter high cliff in the Banaran village and added the search was ongoing.

Seasonal rains often cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, which is comprised of a chain of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or flood-prone plains close to rivers.

The agency said at least 1,985 disasters occurred during 2016, killing a total of 375 people -- the worst death toll in 10 years.