Dozens dead after flash flooding hits Indonesia's Papua

March 17 (UPI) -- Dozens of people were killed Sunday in flash flooding that hit Indonesia's far-eastern province of Papua.

At least 50 people are dead and another 59 are injured after the flooding Sunday evening in Sentani a town near Papua's capital of Jayapura, The New York Times reported. Indonesia news website Detik reported 51 deaths, while both news outlets reported seven others died in a landslide that struck Jayapura during the floods.

Indonesian disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told reporters that the flooding washed away nine houses.

Suryadi Diaz, a spokesman for Papua police, told the Times that tree clearings to make room for farming likely exacerbated the flooding.