Flooding in Tanzania has killed five people and forced about 2,500 to flee their homes after a week of torrential rain in the country's south, an official said on Friday.

Schools have closed in Kyela, a district on the border of Lake Malawi and families fled to shelters after losing everything in the rising waters. "The damage from these floods is enormous," Salome Magambo, the district's administrative secretary, told AFP.

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"Since the beginning of the week, we have reported five people killed and 2,570 homeless, some of whom are staying with friends or in schools and churches." Food and medical services have been extended to those stranded, she added.

Farming land in the district known for its rice production has also been inundated, destroying crops and raising fears of food shortages in coming months. In April 2018 at least 14 people were killed in torrential rains and flooding in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's economic capital.

Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in eastern Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; the Comoro Islands at the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in north-eastern Tanzania.

It is mountainous and densely forested in the north-east, where Mount Kilimanjaro is located. Three of Africa's Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania. To the north and west lie Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, and Lake Tanganyika, the continent's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish. To the south lies Lake Malawi. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore.