Flash floods swept through a region north of Khartoum, washing out railways and bridges and leaving 15 people dead and thousands homeless.

The floods struck Monday following two hours of heavy rain. Witnesses arriving at the town of al-Geili about 36 miles north of Khartoum said they saw bodies washed up on the shores of the Nile. Officials said at least 15 were killed.

State-run television showed hundreds of leveled homes in the rural town, with women and children sitting next to the rubble of houses with bundles of clothes.

Badr Eddin Taha, governor of Khartoum state, appealed to local non-governmental organizations to help citizens in the stricken areas.