Floods leave 5 dead, 26 missing in Indonesia

JAKARTA (Xinhua) - At least five people were killed, 26 people went missing in shipwreck and landslides triggered by flash floods in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, an official said here Saturday night.

Floods in Central Java forced 52,338 people to evacuate and take shelters, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the national disaster agency, told Xinhua over the phone.

Flash floods coming from a mountain hit Nameng village of Siau Barat sub-district in North Sulawesi at about 10:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, capsizing boats with 37 people on board near the coast, the spokesman said.

"Three people were killed, 26 went missing and 8 survived" in the shipwreck, he said.

In Manado, the provincial capital of North Sulawesi, landslides triggered by days of heavy downpour left two people dead.

Indonesia has endured widespread flooding across the country for several weeks ago. Seasonal downpours cause floods each year in the country, a chain of 17,500 islands where millions of people live in plains near rivers.