Floods leave five dead in Indonesia

At least five people were killed and 26 people were reported missing in shipwreck and landslides triggered by flash floods in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, an official said here Saturday.

Floods in central Java forced 52,338 people to evacuate and take shelters, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson 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 around 10 a.m. Saturday, capsizing boats with 37 people on board near the coast, the spokesman said.

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

In Manado, the provincial capital of North Sulawesi, landslides triggered by days of heavy rainfall 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.