Disaster co-ordinator Donar Pasaribu said 72 people, including five foreigners, had been confirmed dead after a swollen river burst its banks Sunday night, sweeping away homes and tourist cottages in the town of Bahorok.

Another 98 are missing presumed dead, he said.

"I am 99.99 percent sure that these (missing) people are dead," Pasaribu told AFP.

He said two German women aged 20 and 26, a 63-year-old Singaporean male, a 30-year-old Dutch man and another 30-year-old man from Austria were among the dead.

Their bodies have been taken to a hospital in Medan, the provincial capital, while eight foreigners who escaped the deluge were evacuated to Medan and Binjai, a neighbouring town.

A local military officer said 250 police and soldiers had joined rescue efforts to find the missing people, who have been buried beneath logs and mud since Sunday night.

The flood "wiped out at least 10 cottages" in the area, said an employee of Bukit Lawang Cottages which fronts the river.

"It happened so fast. In only 20 minutes the water had washed away houses and cottages," said local resident Safaruddin Nasution.

Two buses and dozens of cars were also damaged after being hit by debris and seven bridges were destroyed, a local journalist told AFP. Rescue workers stacked bodies outside a mosque.

Langkat district chief Syamsul Arifin said the flood was caused by illegal logging inside a neighbouring national park and said it was a disaster waiting to happen.

"We know who the bosses and the thieves are. The victims are not only the environment but also humans. We have predicted this," Arifin said.

Bahorok, 96 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Medan, is on the eastern fringes of the Gunung Leuser national park. It is the home of a famed orangutan refuge, which is popular with tourists who also go trekking and white-water rafting.

About 43,000 people live in the district.

Severe flooding and landslides, often blamed on rampant deforestation, are common during Indonesia's rainy season, but a local military source said flash-flooding was unheard of in this area.

"This sort of disaster has never happened here before," said first sergeant Rici Manalu.

Arifin, quoted later by Antara, said 40,000 hectares (98,800 acres) of forest in the national park has been destroyed by illegal logging. The timber theft has continued unabated for 10 years, he said.

"The felling of forests by businessmen has been allegedly backed by officers so it has continued unhindered," he complained.

Landslides destroyed 115 houses in four villages in the Kebumen district of Central Java province following heavy weekend rain. No one was hurt.

TERRA.WIRE