While relatives began identifying victims of the weekend flooding in and around the provincial town of Dire Dawa, officials said 206 bodies had been recovered but the toll was expected to climb as 300 people were still unaccounted for.

"We have been able to recover 206 bodies and we have also rescued 96 injured people," said an official with Ethiopia's federal Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission.

"The search and rescue efforts are still going on but we expect the death toll to rise," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity after flying into Dire Dawa with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to inspect the damage.

"It is a sad day to all of us," Meles said in the town of some 400,000, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) east of Addis Ababa. "We have lost our brothers and sisters."

He added: "The Ethiopian government will do everything in its power to bring normal life back to the people of Dire Dawa and to give all needed support to those affected by the disaster."

But his consoling words appeared to have little impact on survivors who wandered the devastated streets, weeping and moaning, many unable to comprehend how the now-receded raging waters caused so much damage.

"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."

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.

Trader Kassim Ahmed was visibly devastated by the floods.

"My coffee store is completely demolished. I had coffee ready for export worth three million dollars. I also had heavy trucks that were to transport coffee to Djibouti. All these were washed away," Kassim told AFP.

"I am completely devastated," he said.

Federal authorities said they had started delivering humanitarian supplies to the victims.

"We have organised every support we can to provide such as shelters, food and blankets as well as medical support. We will be working on longterm reconstruction and rehabilitation plan," said Simon Mechale, a top official in the country's Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Office.

"We have opened a special bank account for those who want to help" the flood victims, Simon explained.

At least 39 of the confirmed dead are children under the age of seven, according to police, who said many of the casualties were women, children and the elderly who were sleeping and unable to escape when the floods hit.

Residents said they 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.

Aid workers said some 10,000 had been left homeless by the waters from the swollen Dechatu and Dire Dawa rivers which broke their banks, sweeping through the town and nearby villages, killing many while they slept.

The floods in the Addis Ketema, Genfele, Coca Cola and Aftessa districts caused massive property damage, destroying hundreds of homes, trading stalls and cutting a key road linking the town to Addis Ababa, they said.

In addition, the waters brought down electricity and telephone lines, further complicating rescue efforts in an area in Ethiopia's lowlands that is prone to flooding during the June-to-September rainy season, they said.

Last year, at least 200 people were killed and more than 260,000 displaced when heavy rains pounded the region, flooding rivers that quickly attracted large numbers of crocodiles and forced survivors to cling to trees to escape.

Ethiopia, a nation of about 70 million people, has frequently been ravaged by natural calamities, notably drought and famine.

Over the last several years, flooding has affected large areas of eastern and southern Ethiopia, displacing tens of thousands of people and causing damage worth millions of dollars, particularly to agriculture.

The floods follow a devastating drought that hit the east Africa region, threatening the lives of about 15 million people in five countries, including Ethiopia and neighboring Somalia and Kenya.

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