Landslides, Floods Kill 60 on Indonesian Isle
August 2, 2001 - 0:0
MEDAN, Indonesia -- Floods and landslides killed at least 60 people and left almost 800 unaccounted for after days of heavy rains on a remote Indonesian island popular with foreign surfers, officials said on Wednesday. Five villages on the Indian Ocean island of Nias off the west coast of Sumatra were swept away in the predawn hours of Tuesday while most residents were asleep. Hundreds of homes were damaged. There were no initial reports of foreigners being hurt. Officials from the embassies of Australia and Japan said they were not aware of any foreign casualties, but added they were monitoring the situation.