At least 2 killed as floods, landslides force over 8,000 to flee home in Indonesia's Java Island

JAKARTA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- At least two People were killed as floods, landslides and whirlwind displaced more than 8,000 People in Java Island of western Indonesia, disaster agency official said here on Monday.

The natural disasters hit Yogyakarta province and Central Java province on Sunday, destroying three bridges, scores of houses and buildings and cutting off electricity, spokesman of national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

The disaster hit the districts of Bantul, Kulon Progo, Gunung Kidul, Purworejo and Wonogiri, said Sutopo.

Searching for three missing People, who were buried by soils after the landslides in Bantul district of Yogyakarta province, continued on Monday, he told Xinhua in a text message.

As many as 8,669 have taken shelters in several evacuation centers in both neighboring provinces, the spokesman said.

Clean water, medicines, blankets and baby foods are among the dire needs of the evacuees, he said.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago with over 17,500 islands, has been frequently stricken by flood, flash flood and landslide during heavy downpours.