Jakarta – At least 416 people in Indonesia's remote Irian Jaya province have died of famine and disease and nearly 90,000 face serious food shortages because of a severe drought, relief officials said on Thursday.

"The situation is quite grim here. As of today, 416 people have died because of the famine. Rains have only fallen three times in this area in six months," an official at the disaster coordinating office said by telephone from Wamena.

"The estimate that 90,000 people are at risk... is not a joke," he said from the capital of the drought-stricken central Jayawijaya district.

The drought has been exacerbated by the El Nino phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean affecting global weather patterns. Papua New Guinea, which shares half of the vast New Guinea island with Irian Jaya, has also been hard hit by a lack of rainfall.

Humanitarian efforts include the despatch of tonnes of rice and noodles to help people in Jayawijaya to deal with the drought. Blankets have also been sent.

The official said at least eight districts were hard hit by drought which had destroyed crops, especially the staple sweet potato, and helped to cause respiratory problems, malaria and other ailments.

"A lack of food has made people become very weak. Respiratory problems are enough to kill the people," he said, adding that relief efforts had been hampered by the smog caused by forest fires in many parts of the island.

"We have so far managed to distribute rice and send doctors to the drought-stricken areas. The problem is flights are often hampered by the smog," said the official.

Wamena, with a tribal population of around 45,000, can be reached only by air. Located at a height of 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) in the scenic Balien valley, it is surrounded by some of the world's most rugged terrain.

The official Antara news agency reported on Thursday that missionaries in the areas feared the crisis would continue.

It quoted Wally Wiley, manager of the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), which organises missionary flights to remote areas, as saying on Wednesday that the food shortage was chronic.

"If this problem is not quickly handled, then the people will suffer more and more because of the decline in their physical condition. It will be easy for them to get sick and die," he said.