Flash Floods Kill 34 in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Flash floods swept away hundreds houses and schools in central Indonesia early Monday, killing at least 34 people, a government official said.

Villages were inundated when overnight rains triggered a landslide on a hill in Panti, a subdistrict of East Java province, and forced a river to burst its banks.

Many people sought shelter from the surging waters in mosques and boarding schools.

"So far 34 people have been confirmed dead," said Burhanudin, a top official in Panti, as he awaited casualty figures from one other unreachable village. "At least 30 others have been injured."

Hundreds of houses and boarding schools were destroyed or washed away before the rains subsided Monday, said Burhanudin, who goes by only one name.

Panti is about 540 miles east of Jakarta.