As rescuers dug frantically through gritty debris and river banks to find some of the 300 residents reported missing when raging waters swept through Dire Dawa on Saturday, many townspeople appeared in a state of shock.

"I lost my husband and my child, my life is now nothing," said 32-year-old Bezunesh Abegaz. "I don't see any hope or future for me."

"I saw them die in a terrible way, but at least I can draw comfort from having recovered and buried them," she told AFP. "Now, I'm sorry for my neighbours who have not yet found the bodies of their loved ones."

Authorities say about 300 people have been reported missing since the swollen Dechatu and Dire Dawa rivers burst their banks, flooding Dire Dawa and nearby villages, killing many as they slept.

Among those are three relatives of Berhane Zewde, who wept uncontrollably as he searched for them.

"I haven't found them or their bodies until now, and I am still running up and down through hospitals, demolished houses and to different parts of the riverbed to find them," he told AFP, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Other residents walked aimlessly through the streets of the inundated town, seemingly oblivious to the destruction wrought by waters that have now dissipated, leaving many to wonder how the damage could have been so bad.

On a visit to Dire Dawa to inspect the damage, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi sought to console the survivors and pledged that the government would do what it could to repair the damage and assist the survivors.

"It is a sad day to all of us," he said. "We have lost our brothers and sisters."

But his words of consolation appeared to have little impact on those still searching for missing loved ones in the town of some 400,000.

"I am saved, but I have no idea about the whereabouts of my family or my neighbours," survivor Zahara Ali told AFP. "It was nightmare for me, it was a miracle I lived, but the nightmare haunts me."

At least 206 bodies have been recovered, along with 96 people rescued, according to disaster relief officials, who said at least 10,000 people had been left homeless by the floods.

Residents and rescuers were using their bare hands, hoes, trowels, shovels as well as bulldozers and other earth-moving equipment to dig through sand, mud and rubble in search of bodies or people still alive.

At least 39 of the dead were children under the age of seven, according to Dire Dawa regional police commissioner Getachew Asres.

Officials said the casualties were mainly women, children and the elderly who were unable to escape from poorly constructed shacks along river banks and that entire families may have drowned.

"I was in bed when I heard people shouting," 45-year-old survivor Abaye Baheru told AFP on Sunday. "I opened the door, the water burst in, forcing me to escape to the rooftop ... but my house and property were destroyed.

"While on the rooftop, I saw men, women and children being washed away while crying for help," he said.

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