JAKARTA, Indonesia — Devastating landslides, triggered by relentless torrential rains, have claimed the lives of two individuals and left 21 others unaccounted for in Central Java, Indonesia, as confirmed by officials on Friday. The calamity struck on Thursday evening, engulfing numerous homes across three villages in the province. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported that the region had been subjected to several days of intense rainfall, which destabilized the terrain and led to the catastrophic event. Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for the BNPB, highlighted the challenges faced by rescue teams due to the precarious ground conditions. Despite these obstacles, search and rescue operations persisted into Friday morning, with heavy machinery being deployed to expedite the efforts. Footage released by the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) depicted rescuers meticulously combing through the debris of collapsed homes, utilizing a combination of heavy equipment, extraction tools, and manual labor to access hard-to-reach areas. Indonesia, an archipelago comprising 17,000 islands, is no stranger to such disasters, particularly during the heavy seasonal rains that typically span from October to March. These rains often result in flooding and landslides, especially in mountainous regions and fertile floodplains where millions reside. This incident echoes a similar tragedy in January, when over 20 lives were lost to floods and landslides in Central Java following torrential downpours.