New Delhi, Jan. 7 -- Flash floods triggered by torrential rain killed at least 16 people in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province, officials said Tuesday.

Days of monsoon rain burst riverbanks early Monday, triggering fast-moving torrents of water mixed with mud, rocks and debris that swept away people and submerged villages in Siau Tagulandang Biaro District, said Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency.

Emergency rescue personnel supported by police and the military deployed to four devastated villages on Siau, a tiny island about 130 kilometers (80 miles) off the northern tip of Sulawesi, Indonesia's fourth-largest island. In some places, access was hampered by damaged roads and disrupted communications...