Jakarta, Feb 26 (UNI) Five people were killed while almost 10000 people were forced to flee their homes as powerful floods coupled with landslides hit Indonesia's West Java province, local media reported on Wednesday.
Large scale evacuation is underway as the floods have adversely affected 47,670 residents in the district, Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Agus Wibowo confirmed.
A 14-day emergency was declared on Wednesday to pave way for the emergency relief efforts, Xinhua reported.
Meanwhile an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia's eastern Maluku province, today, triggering panic among the residents.
Wibowo said that the twin natural disasters have destroyed three school buildings and one mosque besides inundating over 800 hectares of rice fields.
He confirmed the setting up of makeshift tents and distribution of emergency relief aid such as foods and blankets which have been sent to the affected region.
Soldiers, policemen and personnel of the Search and Rescue Office and the Disaster Management Agency have been pressed into the rescue operations.
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency's official Fachri Radjab said tropical cyclone Esther in the Gulf of Carpentaria of Australia and tropical cyclone Ferdinand in the Indian Ocean triggered heavy downpours in western Java Island, including West Java province and other parts of the country.
The agency further forecast of heavy downpours on Wednesday.
UNI XC RKM JAL 1635