Heavy rainfall hit Indonesia and East Timor on Sunday. The rainfall caused deadly flash floods and landslides which took lives of more than 71 people yesterday.

Flooding that begins within 6 hours, and often within 3 hours, of the heavy rainfall is called flash flood. Flash floods occur so quickly that people are caught off guard (caught surprisingly and unexpectedly).

According to international news agencies, the affected area stretched from Flores island in eastern Indonesia to East Timor.
In the incident, more than 40 people are reported to have been missing in Indonesia, and officials have warned the death toll may rise further.

Quoting to Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Raditya Djati, BBC writes, 'The mud and the extreme weather have become a serious challenge and the debris piling up has hampered the search and rescue team'. Mr. Djati's colleague Alfons Hada Bethan, head of the East Flores disaster agency, added they suspected many people were buried but it was not clear how many were missing.

Mr. Bethan further added, ' There are hundreds in each sub district but many others are staying at home. They need medicine, food and blankets."

Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, has expressed his condolences and urged people to follow the advice from officials during the extreme weather periods.

Landslides in the rainy season are common in Indonesia. In January this year, 40 people had died when flash floods hit the town of Sumedang on Java.

Similarly, in last September, at least 11 people were killed in landslides on Borneo.