At least five people have been killed after a cyclone swept through northern Mozambique, flattening villages, crushing houses and flooding streets.

Rising waters were making it difficult for rescuers to evacuate people in the east African nation's Cabo Delgado region after Cyclone Kenneth made landfall last week.

Winds hit 174 miles per hour when it made landfall.

Aerial photos showed that some villages had been “entirely wiped out”, said Gemma Connell, head of the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“They look like they have been run over with a bulldozer,” she added.

Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique Show all 15 1 /15 Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique Tropical Cyclone Kenneth approaches the coast of Mozambique 25 April 2019. NASA/Reuters Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique The battered coast of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, before Cyclone Kenneth hit on 25 April 2019. AFP/Getty Images/Stringer Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique The battered coast of Wimbi Beach in Pemba on 26 April 2019 as Cyclone Kenneth hit the north coast of Mozambique in Cabo Delgado province, barely a month after a super-storm slammed into the country's centre, leaving hundreds dead and causing devastation. AFP/Getty Images/Nour Hemici Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique The battered coast of Wimbi Beach in Pemba as Cyclone Kenneth hit the north coast of Mozambique in Cabo Delgado province 26 April 2019. AFP/Getty Images/Nour Hemici Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique Residents buy groceries at Sabasaba Market as they prepare for the effects of cyclone Kenneth in Mtwara town, Tanzania, 26 April 2019. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique Debris is seen in the aftermath of Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique 26 April 2019. SolidarMed/Reuters Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique A beach is seen in the aftermath of Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique. 26 April 2019. SolidarMed/Reuters Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique, 26 April 2019. SolidarMed/Reuters Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique People stand by fallen trees on 25 April 2019 in Moroni after tropical storm Cyclone Kenneth hit Comoros before heading to recently cyclone-ravaged Mozambique. AFP/Getty Images/Ibrahim Youssouf Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique A fallen tree is pictured on 25 April 2019 in Moroni after tropical storm Cyclone Kenneth hit Comoros before heading to recently cyclone-ravaged Mozambique. AFP/Getty Images/Ibrahim Youssouf Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique Homeless people take shelter in a community centre on 25 2019 in Moroni after tropical storm Cyclone Kenneth hit Comoros before heading to recently cyclone-ravaged Mozambique. AFP/Getty Images/Ibrahim Youssouf Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique People stand by damaged houses and fallen trees on 25 April 2019 in Moroni after tropical storm Cyclone Kenneth hit Comoros before heading to recently cyclone-ravaged Mozambique. AFP/Getty Images/Ibrahim Youssouf Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique A man stands on fallen trees which damaged his home in Moroni, Comoros, 25 April 2019 after Cyclone Kenneth hit the island nation of Comoros. AP/Anziza M'Changama Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique Cyclone damaged cars in Moroni, Comoros, 25 April 2019 after Cyclone Kenneth hit the island nation of Comoros. AP/Anziza M'Changama Cyclone Kenneth turns deadly as 140mph winds batter Mozambique A damaged house in the province of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, before Cyclone Kenneth hit on 25 April 2019. AFP/United Nations World Food Programme

The storm arrived shortly after Mozambique had been devastated by Cyclone Idai in March. It killed more than 1,000 people, destroyed property and crops and unleashed a cholera outbreak.

Forecasters warned that Cyclone Kenneth could bring twice as much rain to the country.

Shortly after Kenneth made landfall, homes started to collapse in the Natite neighbourhood in the city of Pemba, one of the worst-affected areas, according to OCHA.

Residents tried to bail floodwater out of their houses, while others piled sandbags outside their doors and rescue workers evacuated at least 130 people to centres on Sunday, mostly by boat.

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The city is at risk of being cut off from the rest of the country, they warned.

The UN said 1.8m people in the country require aid.

It is the first time on record that two such powerful cyclones have hit Mozambique in such a short space of time.