"By this afternoon ... we have found two more bodies," he said, referring to finds that pushed the toll to 32 on the island, which lies 1,700 kilometres (1,000 miles) east of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.

A key road running into areas affected by the landslides remained partially cut off, impeding relief and rescue operations, Lazarus said.

Officials said search teams and doctors, along with medicine, body bags and tonnes of food, flew on Sunday to a town along the road lying some 35 kilometres from the buried villages.

The town, Ruteng, was jolted by a moderate earthquake on Sunday, but it caused no damage or casualties.

Isidorus, a disaster relief official, said some repairs had been made the damaged road but that aid and relief vehicles were still struggling to use it to reach the affected areas.

He said relief efforts were focused on two villages, Gapong and Goreng Meni, where the bulk of those missing were buried.

Relief coordinators said there was an urgent need for items such as tents, raincoats, mosquito nets and lamps in the disaster zone. The rescue operation is being coordinated from the Flores town of Kupang.

Around 40 local policemen have been sent to an area near Ruteng to help with the effort, local police officer Pagade said.

The death toll was put at 40 soon after the tragedy, with some 80 missing, but was revised down on Sunday as more information emerged.

Some houses on Flores were said to have been washed away by flash floods after days of heavy downpours.

The landslides destroyed many rice fields, which could lead to local food shortages, and knocked out telephone lines. Search and rescue teams were relying on citizen band radio to communicate with each other.

Heavy rain in Flores on Thursday forced 11,000 people in an area known as Reok to leave their homes as floods and landslides struck. Six people are still missing after that incident.

More downpours are expected to affect the island because of a nearby cyclone.

Indonesia is at the height of the monsoon season, with heavy rains causing landslides and flooding in various parts of the archipelago.

Landslides are a persistent problem in the country. Last year they killed hundreds of people in a central Javan village and since then scores have died in similar incidents elsewhere in Indonesia.

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