The head of the police on Nias island told the BBC that seven villages in the central and southern districts had been affected.

The twin disasters struck before dawn on Tuesday as most villagers were still sleeping.

Mr Nasution said at least 103 houses were destroyed in the landslide, which followed two days of incessant rain, which left most of the village of Sambulu under water.

Earthquakes

Three earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 5.3 to 5.4, which were recorded near the island on Tuesday, might also have contributed to the landslide.

Emergency medical and food supplies have been flown in from the city of Medan, the provincial capital of North Sumatra.

Hundreds of police and troops have also been deployed to help with the rescue effort.

Seven villages on the island have been affected

But the BBC's correspondent in Jakarta, Richard Galpin, says reaching the affected areas will not be easy, since the roads on the island are extremely bad and the worst affected villages are at least 80km from the main town.

A police chief told the BBC that the main road and electricity supplies had been both cut.

Hundreds of people die in flooding and landslides in Indonesia every year.

Nias attracts hundreds of foreign tourists - mostly surfers from Australia and Japan - but officials said the tourists did not frequent the areas hit by the floods.