Police, troops and civilian volunteers had found 87 bodies so far at this North Sumatra resort town which was hit by a raging flash flood Sunday night, said rescue official Johnny Sitorus.

He said about 100 others are missing. Officials have said there is little hope of finding any of them alive after the flood, which is blamed largely on illegal logging in a neighbouring national park.

An official at the disaster relief agency said heavy equipment to remove hundreds of logs and other debris was in short supply.

"We have problems finding bodies because we don't have enough equipment," she said, declining to be identified. "We suspect bodies are buried under piles of logs or debris of houses swept away by the flood."

Five foreigners were among those killed in the town on the banks of the river of the same name. Along with the surging floodwaters came hundreds of logs, felled on the slopes of nearby Gunung (Mount) Leuser national park and washed down the river.

They smashed into scores of homes, many of them tin-roofed bamboo structures, as well as resort cottages on the riverbank.

About 450 homes or other structures were destroyed along with 35 resort cottages, two mosques and eight bridges.

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

A series of officials including Vice President Hamzah Haz have said rampant illegal logging helped cause the disaster.

Top welfare minister Yusuf Kalla said he had urged the provincial and local governments to take stern action against illegal logging, which is a nationwide problem in the huge archipelago.

Kalla said a forest replanting programme would start in December.

Provincial governor Rizal Nurdin, quoted by the Jakarta Post, said logs were believed to have piled up in the upper reaches of the river and partially dammed the flow.

"The heavy rains caused the log dam to burst and wash down other huge logs along the riverbank. This caused a disaster as it swept away homes," Nurdin said.

The government said it would provide 50 tons of rice, other food and clothes for victims as well as one billion rupiah (117,700 dollars).

TERRA.WIRE