Rescue workers in Indonesia struggled on Saturday to reach several areas that were hit by landslides and flash floods as authorities feared the confirmed death toll of 279 would rise further.

Parts of North Sumatra province were cut off by damaged roads and downed communications lines, and relied on relief aircraft to deliver aid supplies.

Rescue efforts were also hampered by a lack of heavy equipment.

Rescuers in North Sumatra recovered 31 bodies on Saturday, said provincial police spokesperson Ferry Walintukan, increasing the death toll to 279.

More than 3,500 police were deployed to search for 174 people still missing and help distribute aid to over 28,400 who fled to temporary government shelters across the province, he said.

Monsoon rains over the past week caused rivers to burst their banks.

The deluge tore through mountainside village, swept away people and submerged thousands of houses and buildings.

In the Agam district in West Sumatra province, nearly 80 people were missing in three village, buried under tons of mud and rocks.

There was a desperate need for heavy equipment to reach possible survivors.

Relatives wailed as they watched rescuers pull bodies from a buried house in Salareh Aia village.

AP video by Ade Yuandha/Reza