Cyclone kills almost 100 as floods, landslides hit Southeast Asia

Lembata, Indonesia — Rescuers were hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment Monday after torrential rains caused multiple disasters on remote eastern Indonesian islands as well as in East Timor. At least 70 people died and dozens were missing in Indonesia, and 21 deaths were reported in East Timor.

Tropical Cyclone Seroja, causing the damage, was expected to continue affecting the Southeast Asian nations for days while moving south toward Australia.   Mud tumbled down from surrounding hills onto dozens of homes in Lamenele village shortly after midnight Sunday on Indonesia's Adonara island. Rescuers recovered 38 bodies and at least five people were injured, said Lenny Ola, who heads the local disaster agency.   Flashfloods killed at least 30 people elsewhere and at least 70 were missing in the province, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Severe flooding also was reported in Bima, a town in the neighboring province of West Nusa Tenggara, killing two people and submerging nearly 10,000 houses.   Relief efforts were hampered by power outages, blocked roads covered in thick mud and debris, as well as the remoteness of the area on an island that can only be reached by sea which is now surrounded by high waves, said the agency's spokesperson, Raditya Jati. CBS News' Lucy Craft said videos from Indonesia showed residents young and old being evacuated on rubber boats, or crammed onto tractors and trucks, after the floodwaters swallowed up their villages.