Over 72 people have been killed and 20 others missing in floods and landslide in Indonesia's provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh, officials said on Monday.

Spokesman of the Aceh province Hamid Zein said that at least 42 people have died and ten others missing after the waters overflow and poured from riverbanks in Aceh province since Friday.

"Forty-two people were dead, ten other missing," he told Xinhua.

The spokesman said that the floods has forced over 198,000 people fleeing their home, 1,998 houses, one school building and three mosques destroyed, he said.

In Gayo Luwes regency of the province over 5,000 people have been trapped, as they have no access to leave the area, said Hamid.

"Gayo Luwes still can not be reached through air, land or by boat, over 5,000 people are being trapped in the area. There is no access to go there," he said. "Tomorrow we must reach the area, whatever the risks," added Hamid.

In Langkat regency of North Sumatra province the death toll have been revised to 10 people with seven missing, and in Muara Sipongi regency the death toll reached 20 people and the missing three, said an official at the Health Ministry Rustam Pakaya.

"In Langkat 10 were dead, seven missing, in Muara Sipongi after searching the debris, we found 20 people dead, three still can not be found," he told Xinhua in telephone from the province.

Rescue is underway now, as the most of the flood have receded, the officials said.

They blamed the consecutive territorial rain had caused the lack of adequate forest cover land could not hold the excess water, so that made the soil fall and the water overflow.

The adequate forest cover is widely accused by the deforestation and destruction.

The authorities said that the government and aid organizations had sufficient supplies of food, medicine and tents, however transport capable of reaching remote areas remained a problem.

Nearly two years ago, Aceh was devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami, triggered by 8.7 magnitude earthquake which left some 170, 000 dead or missing in the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.

Source: Xinhua