Thirty people have died in flooding caused by heavy rains in the Gamo area of southern Ethiopia, the local government said.

"Due to the heavy rainfall... especially in Degama areas, the administration of the zone has expressed its grief over the death of 30 people," the communications department for Gamo said in a statement on Facebook late Tuesday.

There has been heavy flooding across East Africa in recent days.

Dozens were killed in neighbouring Kenya after torrential rain hit the capital Nairobi and other areas on Friday.

Multiple studies have tracked the increasing frequency of extreme wet and dry periods in east Africa in the last 20 years.

Scientists have long warned that human-driven climate change is increasing the likelihood, length and severity of severe weather events such as torrential downpours.