JAKARTA • Flash floods and landslides have killed at least 16 people and displaced hundreds in a district on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, officials at the country's disaster mitigation agency said yesterday.

Search and rescue officials were still looking for 23 people missing after the floods struck the North Luwu district of South Sulawesi province, said the agency's spokesman Raditya Jati.

Photos showed a damaged house and a truck partially submerged under thick mud in one village, while a runway at a local airport was also swamped by mud and debris.

"I hope we will be united in our recovery efforts," South Sulawesi Governor Nurdin Abdullah said on Kompas TV.

Heavy rain had inundated three nearby rivers for several days, with the floods prompting the evacuation of 655 people, said the agency and search and rescue officials.

Indonesia frequently suffers from floods and landslides, particularly during the rainy season, though the situation is often made worse by the cutting down of forests.

Flooding also killed 66 people in the capital Jakarta in January, amid some of the heaviest rain since records began.

REUTERS