The latest count as of Sunday places the number of dead at 20 and missing at 88 after heavy rains in central Indonesia resulted in a landslide caused by the loosened soil and collapse of a hill.

The landslide buried more than 100 houses late Friday in Jemblung village, located in the Banjarnegara district of Central Java province, reports AP. The district is about 280 miles from Jakarta, Indonesia's capital.

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Villagers recounted that they heard a roaring sound similar to a thunder. Then they saw trees flying, followed by the landslide, causing residents to panic and flee. There were three major landslide in a span of five minutes which swept the entire terrain.

More than 500 people from the nearby areas were evacuated to temporary shelters, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Rescuing the buried villagers is challenging because of the lack of earth-moving equipment since Jemblung is an isolated, rural area. Rescuers have to use their bare hands to dig into the wet red soil.

Nugroho said the rescuers are hearing what seems to be human voices crying for help from the debris. But aside from the lack of digging equipment, the mud, rugged terrain and rainy weather slow down the ongoing rescue effort.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with the survivors of the landslide in the evacuation centers.

Landslides are fairly common in Indonesia during the monsoon season, which is from October to April. The Friday landslide was the second in Java island. The first was on Thursday when muds and rocks pummeled the Wonosobo district and killed one resident.

The recent seasonal rains and high tide have resulted in landslides and flooding across Indonesia where many residents reside in mountainous areas or near plains that are close to waterways but prone to inundation.

Tagslandslide, Indonesia