Flash floods force thousands of people in E. Indonesia to flee homes

Thousands of people in Indonesia's province of Gorontalo were forced to go out of their homes after floodwaters, reportedly reaching a height of nearly 1.5 meters, have been submerging residential areas since Thursday.

At least 43 villages in the province's Gorontalo city and Bone Bolango district were hit by significant floods due to heavy rains, according to Gorontalo's Disaster Mitigation Agency.

The floods inundated villages in Bone Bolango district including Suwawa, Kabila and Bone, the district's head Sumarwoto was quoted by Indonesia's state news agency Antara as saying on Friday.

Meanwhile, several areas in Gorontalo city affected by the flood included Bugis, Ipilo, Padebuolo, Talumolo and Tenda, he added.

According to data provided by the disaster mitigation agency, the waters forced 5,250 residents in Bugis, 4,010 in Tenda, 2,358 in Ipilo, 1,000 in Botu, 750 in Talumolo and 400 in Padebuolo, to flee their homes.

The residents affected by the floods are currently evacuated to shelters provided by the provincial administration, the agency said.