LIMA, Peru (AP) -- Heavy rains have caused rivers in Peru's Amazon jungle to flood, leaving four people dead and forcing thousands from their homes, authorities said Sunday. Residents waded through waist-deep water in the streets of the jungle capital of Iquitos, 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) northeast of Lima, and surrounding towns after three weeks of rains caused the Amazon River and its Itaya and Nanay tributaries to flood. 

About 7,000 homes in the region were damaged by the waters and their residents have fled to higher ground, said Ivan Vasquez, mayor of the province of Maynas. 

Three children and a man drowned when they fell into the fast-flowing floodwaters in the town of Punchana, one of the most affected areas, Vasquez said. "The greatest risk we face right now is health. Sewage has mixed with the floodwaters and entered peoples' houses, creating the risk of diseases," said Fisheries Minister Gustavo Caillaux, who was part of a government delegation visiting the area. Seventy tons of mattresses, tents, medicine, electricity generators and clothing sent by the government arrived in Iquitos on Saturday. 

Vasquez said the flooding had caused jungle snakes to concentrate on high ground among people seeking refuge, leading to dozens of potentially fatal snake bites. The Amazon River and its tributaries flood frequently, and people on living their banks often build their homes on raised stilts in anticipation of seasonally changing river levels.

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