No fewer than 47 people were killed and 85 others injured in landslides caused by flooding in northern Tanzania, a local official announced Sunday, with warnings the toll would rise.

Heavy rain on Saturday hit the town of Katesh, some 300 kilometres (186 miles) north of the capital Dodoma, district commissioner Janeth Mayanja said.

Up to this evening, the death toll reached 47 and 85 injured, the regional commissioner in the Manyara area of northern Tanzania, Queen Sendiga, told local media.

Mayanja warned the death toll was likely to increase.

Tanzanias President Samia Hassan, in Dubai for the COP28 climate conference, sent her condolences and said she had ordered the deployment of more government efforts to rescue people.

After experiencing an unprecedented drought, East Africa has been hit for weeks by torrential rain and flooding linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon. (AFP)