Floods kill four in Indonesia

Four people have been killed and hundreds forced to evacuate their homes due to severe floods in eastern Indonesia, an official said on Saturday.

Sentianus Medi of the local disaster management centre said all four victims drowned after rivers overflowed following three days of heavy rain.

"Four people in three districts in East Nusa Tenggara province were killed on Friday," he told reporters. "They all lived on riverbanks."

The official said more than 500 people had left their homes due to the floods, and some 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of rice fields were under water.

Landslides and flooding are common in Indonesia during the rainy season, which hits its peak from December to February.

Torrential rains across Central and East Java provinces at the start of the year triggered landslides and floods that killed more than 100 people and displaced tens of thousands.