A dam burst in Kenya after weeks of torrential rain, unleashing a torrent of water that smashed into two villages, killing at least 21 people and causing “huge destruction”, rescue services and government officials said.

The walls of the Patel dam, situated on a flower farm on top of a hill in Nakuru county, 190 km northwest of Nairobi, gave way late on Wednesday as nearby residents were sitting down to evening meals.

The area around Nakuru is on the edge of Kenya’s main flower-farming region - a major source of foreign exchange and employment for East Africa’s biggest economy - and is dotted with irrigation reservoirs. Nearly all Kenya’s cut flowers are exported to Europe.

After a severe drought last year, East Africa has been hit by two months of heavy rain that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Uganda.

Even before this week’s dam-burst, rains had killed 132 people and displaced 222,000 in Kenya alone, according to the government.

The St. John Ambulance service said at least 21 people had been killed downstream of the dam. The Kenya Red Cross said 39 people had been rescued from the mud.

“The water has caused huge destruction of both life and property. The extent of the damage has yet to be ascertained,” Nakuru governor Lee Kinyajui said in a statement.

Arriving at the scene, Interior Minister Fred Matiangi pledged central government assistance to those affected.

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