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Jakarta. Three people were killed and scores more injured when strong winds and heavy rains wrecked dozens of homes and uprooted trees in central Java and West Nusa Tenggara on Saturday.

Two people died, one in Yogyakarta and neighboring Klaten district in Central Java, after they were crushed by falling trees, while another was killed in Solo after being blown off a building.

Winds approaching strong gale force, measuring more than 40 knots (74 kilometers per hour), swept through several districts surrounding Yogyakarta and Solo, causing widespread destruction.

“We remind the public to stay alert for potential strong winds throughout October,” said Tonny Agus Wijaya, head of the information section at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) office in Yogyakarta.

A spokesman from the city’s Dr. Sardjito General Hospital, Trisno Heru Nugroho, said a resident of Kulon Progo district had been on his motorcycle when an uprooted tree fell on him as he was passing through Kronggahan village in Sleman district.

Separately, a resident of Randulanang village in Klaten was also killed by a falling tree.

Meanwhile, in Solo, a resident of Cemani in Sukoharjo district fell to his death from a second-story balcony. Witnesses at the scene said the man was blown off by strong winds, although police are continuing their investigation.

The strong winds also disrupted flights at the Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta for half an hour.

Halendra, operations manager for state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura I, said winds recorded on Saturday suddenly picked up from about 25 knots to more than 40 knots at about 2 p.m.

“For the safety of air passengers, we closed traffic for domestic and international flights from 2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.,” he said.

In West Nusa Tenggara, meanwhile, 39 people have been hospitalized and more than 200 houses damaged over the past week as torrential rains and rough winds continue to lash the resort island of Lombok.

Strong winds picked up across the island on Saturday, catching many residents unprepared because they had instead been expecting floods.

Amaq Saini, a 56-year-old resident of Karang Bongkot village in Labuapi subdistrict in Lombok’s west, said he heard a thundering noise after his afternoon prayers.

Afraid to go outside, he and his wife, Inaq Sauni, 50, stayed inside their home but strong winds swept most of it away.

“I thought it was a plane, but suddenly my house was gone,” he said. “There’s nothing left except for some broken furniture, and my wife’s head is seriously injured after she was hit by a tree.”

Jempong Baru village in the provincial capital, Mataram, suffered some of the worst damage from the high winds.

At least five senior villagers were among the injured after dozens of houses fell over because of the winds, burying residents under debris and rubble.

Mataram Police Chief I Nyoman Sukena said 100 officers had been deployed to the village to help repair damaged houses.