Hundreds of livestock have also been swept away in the region that is recovering from a searing drought that also affected the whole east African region, they said.

"Six people have been swept away by raging floods in Loiyangalani. It has been raining very (heavily) for the past few days. Those who were swept away were four women and two children from two families," Marsabit district commissioner Mutea Iringo told AFP.

"The floods also swept away 600 goats and five camels. Right now, survivors from the area have moved to higher ground and they now need clothes, food and shelter. The government is trying everything possible to ensure that those displaced get the necessary facilities," he added.

The Kenyan Red Cross said they had deployed assessment teams in the region and were distributing relief supplies.

"We have used our stock in Marsabit, both food and non-food items and we hope to start distributing them tomorrow," said Farid AbdulKadir, the society's head of disaster response, referring to a township about 430 kilometres (270 miles) northeast of Nairobi.

Over the weekend, at least 212 people were killed when floods swept through neighbouring Ethiopia's Dire Dawa township, about 500 kilometers east of the capital, and displaced about 10,000 others.

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