JAKARTA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Heavy downpours have triggered landslides and floods in North Sulawesi province on Sunday, killing 17 people, leaving nearly 4,000 others homeless, a local official said on Monday.
The rain in provincial capital of Manado and Sitaro district forced 3,834 people to take shelters at makeshift tents and government office buildings, said Kristian Lautonga, head of emergency unit at the provincial disaster management and mitigation agency.
Overflowed river has caused flooding that submerged thousands of houses, according to Kristian.
"Landslides and floods occurred both in Manado and Sitaro, 16 of the casualty were in landslides and another was swept by floods. Four of the casualty were children," he told Xinhua over phone from Manado city.
Emergency relief aids, including foods and drugs have been delivered to the rain victims, said Kristian.
Seasonal rains in recent days have caused widespread flooding across the archipelago country, which is home to over 238 million people.
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