"Sixteen people were confirmed dead. For injured victims, 10 have been referred to hospitals and the nearest community health centre," Doni Prakoso, police chief in Central Java's Pekalongan city, told local broadcaster Metro TV.
He said the landslide hit the area on Monday and rescue workers were trying to find at least five still missing.
"The rainfall in Pekalongan was quite high, and the worst affected area...is in a hilly or mountainous area," Doni said.
Television footage showed volunteers retrieving a body from the landslide on a makeshift stretcher, with thick mud covering the roads.
Bergas Catursasi Penanggungan, a Central Java disaster agency official, said the search efforts had been delayed due to the difficulty of accessing the area.
"Volunteers are in the process of going to the location," he told broadcaster Kompas TV. "Time is limited due to the weather, we are racing against the weather."
He said local volunteers also joined the search efforts alongside rescue workers, while heavy machinery would be called in to help dig for survivors.
"Going forward, for those who are buried under thicker soil, we hope for assistance from heavy equipment," he said.
Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, typically between November and April, but some disasters caused by adverse weather have taken place outside that season in recent years.
In November flooding triggered by intense rains in western Indonesia killed 27 people.
In May, at least 67 people died after heavy rains caused flash floods in West Sumatra, pushing a mixture of ash, sand, and pebbles from the eruption of Mount Marapi washed into residential areas.
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