The death toll from this week's flooding and landslides in central Indonesia has risen to 216, with 67 people still missing, the national disaster task force reported Saturday. Nearly all of those dead or missing are from the Sinjai district of Sulawesi island, where over 100 homes were destroyed or severely damaged. While heavy rains and landslides are common in the tropical country, one Indonesian official suggested that a rapid rate of deforestation has made it easier for hillsides to saturate with rain and collapse. "There were very heavy rains, and the forest has been depleted so the waters rose rapidly," said Bachtiar Chamsyah of Indonesia's Interior Ministry, according to a translation from the Associated Press.
