A devastating landslide struck Pasirlangu village in West Bandung, Java island, Indonesia, killing 34 people and leaving 32 more missing. The disaster happened last week due to heavy rainfall. Over 650 residents were forced to leave their homes. "The identified bodies will be handed over to the victims' families for burial," said Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency, on Tuesday evening. Rescue teams are carefully searching the area, which remains unstable and risky for further landslides. Local officials believe that more people might be missing than officially reported. The landslide destroyed more than 50 houses in the mountain village. Teams are using manual tools and heavy machines to find survivors, but bad weather slows their work. West Java's governor, Dedi Mulyadi, blamed nearby vegetable plantations for the disaster. He said that cutting down forests for plantations made the land weaker and caused landslides. "The removal of forests to create these plantations has made the area more vulnerable to landslides, as trees help absorb rainfall and their roots stabilize the ground," officials explained. Governor Dedi promised to move affected residents to safer places. This tragedy follows similar floods and landslides in Sumatra island in late 2022, which killed around 1,200 people and displaced over 240,000. Indonesia often faces natural disasters during the rainy season from October to March. The government points to deforestation as a major cause, leaving many areas more prone to floods and landslides.