Heavy rain early on Monday triggered flash floods on the island of Siau, in the region of Siau Tagulandang Biaro, said Nuriadin Gumeleng, a spokesperson for the local rescue agency.
Sixteen rescuers have been deployed to search for four people who remain missing, Gumeleng told Reuters on Tuesday, adding that 18 people had been injured.
"We continue to collect data from local residents in case there are more missing people," he said.
As of Tuesday, main roads in the affected areas were still covered by rocks, debris and thick mud, Gumeleneg said.
At least 444 people had been evacuated to schools and churches after the flash floods, the country disaster mitigation agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement.
Authorities had deployed excavators to clear roads that had been blocked by the debris and mud, he said.
The floods also destroyed hundreds of houses and government buildings, North Sulawesi governor Yulius Selvanus said.
The flash floods took place in the peak of the wet season in Sulawesi island, as forecast by Indonesia's weather agency.
The islands of Java, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua were expected to experience their peak wet seasons over January and February, bringing more risks of floods, the weather agency had said.
Rain in other parts of Indonesia such as Sumatra and Borneo reached its peak in November and December 2024.
Last November, cyclone-induced floods and landslides killed more than 1000 people in Sumatra, with hundreds still missing.
Green groups say deforestation linked to mining and logging exacerbated the impact of the floods.
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