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Indonesian authorities have closed access to a national park on Java Island as firefighters battle a wildfire raging there for nearly a week. The blaze has razed 176 hectares (435 acres) since it broke out last Monday in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, near the popular East Java tourist destination of Mount Bromo, a disaster official said. Authorities barred access to visitors late Saturday until further notice. No injuries or property destruction have been reported, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari. Two water-bombing helicopters have been deployed to douse the flames in areas difficult for firefighters to reach due to steep slopes and strong winds, he said in a statement Sunday. “These conditions make air operations important to reach areas that cannot be accessed optimally by land,” the official said. A blaze destroyed more than 500 hectares of land on Mount Bromo in 2023 when a couple lit a flare during a pre-wedding photo shoot. Indonesia is projected to experience a more intense and prolonged dry season this year, raising the risk of wildfires and drought, due in part to the El Nino weather phenomenon, weather agency BMKG said. More than 107,000 hectares of land burned in Indonesia in the first half of this year, over twice the area destroyed in wildfires in 2023. El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that brings worldwide changes in winds, air pressure and rainfall patterns. It usually causes drier conditions in Southeast Asia and India. 

A landslide on Indonesia’s Java island has killed at least 11 people, an official said Saturday, updating a previous tally as rescuers scrambled to find 12 others who are still missing. The landslide, caused by heavy rainfall, hit three villages in Central Java province on Thursday, burying some houses and damaging others.“As of Saturday afternoon, the number of victims who were found dead is 11, while 12 more are still being searched for,” local search and rescue chief Muhammad Abdullah told AFP. More than 700 personnel from the search and rescue office, military and police as well as volunteers were involved in the operation. A spokesman for the national disaster agency had previously reported that two bodies were found on Thursday. Another was recovered on Friday and eight more on Saturday, according to Abdullah.The government has deployed excavators and tracking dogs to assist the search. The national weather service had warned earlier this week of extreme conditions that could cause hydrometeorological disasters, with heavy rainfall expected across several regions on Indonesia in the coming weeks. The annual monsoon season, typically between November and April, often brings landslides, flash floods and water-borne diseases. Climate change has impacted storm patterns, including the duration and intensity of the season, resulting in heavier rainfall, flash flooding and stronger wind gusts. Earlier in November, flash floods and landslides in a remote area of Papua killed at least 15 people.