August 24

A 1.5-meter flood and severe landslide struck Sorong city in Indonesia's West Papua province on Tuesday, killing two people, the province's Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement.

The victims were a 35-year-old mother and her eight-year-old son. Their house was hit by the landslide when they and the kid's father were inside. The father was injured and had been rushed to the nearest hospital.

The flood and landslide were caused by heavy rains in the city since Monday. As of Tuesday evening, the floods had not yet receded, inundating thousands of houses and disrupting public activities, according to the agency. 

The flood blocked road access and around 9,000 families were forced to leave their houses.

xinhua