Floods in Indonesia’s Papua claim 15 lives, mostly children

Indonesia’s disaster agency warned of more floods as heavy rain is forecast across parts of Papua

Indonesian authorities said on Tuesday that 15 people, mostly children, were killed after being swept away while crossing a river in the easternmost Papua region, while the search for eight children missing in another flood-hit village was ongoing.

The incident took place on Saturday in the remote village of Dal in the Nduga region, where heavy rain caused the river to swell and sweep away 15 people aged between eight and 17, local police chief Alfredo Agustinus Rumbiak said.

He said one body had been recovered and authorities were still searching for the others.

Police are also searching for eight children who were washed away the same day in a similar incident in a nearby village. The children were crossing a different river with their parents when rising waters pulled them away, Rumbiak said, adding that the search had been hampered by the mountainous terrain.

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Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency has warned residents to prepare for more floods, with heavy rain expected in several parts of Papua.

Rumbiak said the search was further complicated by the Nduga region’s “red zone” or conflict area status. Papuan separatists have fought for independence in the resource-rich region since it was brought under Indonesian control following Dutch rule in a UN-overseen vote in 1969.

The first location of the landslide was where a separatist group killed dozens of workers building a bridge in 2018. A New Zealand pilot was also kidnapped in Nduga in 2023 before being released 19 months later.