Noumea: Three people are dead -- including two children -- and five others missing after torrential rain triggered landslides on the French overseas territory of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, officials said Tuesday.
Rain has been battering the remote islands since the weekend, sparking two mudslides in the Houailou area, around 235 kilometres (150 miles) northwest of the capital Noumea, early on Tuesday.
The body of an eight-year-old girl was recovered in mountainous Gouareu, one of two remote communities hardest hit by the disaster. Her injured mother was evacuated and was in a "stable condition", officials said.
A seven-year-old child and a woman in her 30s were also found dead in a nearby area.
Rescuers, including an army medical team and 30 soldiers, have been deployed to search for the five people still missing.
All roads, electrical supplies and telephone lines to the area have been cut off and poor weather is hampering rescue efforts.
"The chance of weather conditions improving in the coming hours is not good," the government said in a statement, advising residents to avoid all but essential travel and to take extra care.
Four areas have been placed on the highest alert for heavy rain as weather forecasters predicted further downpours on Tuesday night and into Wednesday, before a lull.
Although the rain had been especially heavy in the east, the main road on the west coast also had been cut and schools in several areas have been shut.
