KARUNA SHINSHO, CNN ANCHOR: Rescue workers on Indonesia's remote island of Nias are intensifying their search for scores of people missing after mud slides and flooding. More than 30 people were killed. Maria Ressa is following the story, from Jakarta.</s>MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It took more than 48 hours for rescue workers to get to the areas worst hit by the landslides which happened early Tuesday morning. During that time, with communication lines down and transportation at a standstill, Red Cross officials estimated as many as 100 people may have been killed, with up to 1,000 villagers missing. When rescue workers got to the site Thursday, they had some good news. Despite the devastation -- more than 1,500 homes destroyed -- hundreds of people were found alive; apparently, they had evacuated to higher ground when the floods and landslides hit. Now the numbers of dead and missing have been dramatically scaled back. Thirty-three bodies have been recovered from the mud and water, which has engulfed at least five villages in the area. Search-and-rescue teams are still looking for more than 100 people. Now they face other problems: the lack of heavy equipment to move mud and trees, the remote location, blocked roads and washed-out bridges are slowing down rescue operations. That hasn't stopped the villagers, some of whom are using poles to sift through the mud in search of their loved ones. Maria Ressa, CNN, Jakarta.
Following Floods, Rescue Workers on Indonesian Island of Nias Search for Missing