A week of heavy rainfall in Indonesia's North Sumatra province has caused devastating floods and landslides across multiple regions. The disaster has claimed numerous lives, and rescue teams are actively searching for missing individuals.

At least 31 people have lost their lives after a week of heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides across Indonesia's North Sumatra province, authorities reported on Friday.

The disaster has affected four districts, spanning from Medan to rural areas such as Sibolangit and Sayur Matinggi. In these areas, landslides have blocked roads, leaving communities cut off from access, according to Indonesia's disaster agency.

Rescue teams are working in difficult and hazardous conditions to clear debris from the roads and continue searching for missing persons, while temporary shelters are struggling to accommodate the growing number of displaced individuals.

Tuahta Ramajaya Saragih, head of North Sumatra's disaster management agency, shared that the agency has requested the provincial governor to declare a disaster emergency. This declaration would facilitate faster aid distribution and mobilize national resources to assist thousands of displaced residents.

"The heavy rainfall continues to pummel the region, and we expect the risk of more disasters to remain high through early December," Saragih said.

Search operations are ongoing. On Friday, police and rescue workers focused their efforts on locating survivors trapped under three cars and a tourist bus, which were buried beneath debris after a landslide struck the road between Medan city and Berastagi on Wednesday. This road, which connects Medan to other districts in the region, is situated in a hilly area and is a crucial transportation route.

The death toll from the landslide has risen from seven to nine, with more bodies being recovered from the bus, which was buried under trees, mud, and rocks. As of Friday, authorities were uncertain how many more people might still be trapped in the wreckage.

In addition to the fatalities, over 10 others were injured in the landslide.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, regularly experiences flooding and landslides due to seasonal rains, particularly from October to March. The country’s weather agency has issued a warning of extreme weather conditions in the coming months, as the La Niña phenomenon is expected to intensify rainfall across the nation.