Landslides triggered by torrential rains killed at least 23 people in eastern Uganda early Monday as mud engulfed homes and buried entire families, a Red Cross spokeswoman said.

Local residents and Red Cross workers pulled 15 bodies from the rubble of Mabono village in Bulambuli district, about 270 kilometres (167 miles) northeast of Kampala, spokeswoman Catherine Ntabadde told AFP.

Two people were rescued in Mabono, but eight others were confirmed dead following a mudslide in a second village in the same area, Ntabadde added.

She said the death toll could rise.

"We have sent teams to the affected areas and there are chances that more people will be found there," Ntabadde said.

Recent heavy rains in eastern Uganda has also caused flooding and displaced hundreds of families in the region.

Earlier this month, at least seven people were killed in a landslide in a village in northeastern Uganda.

In one of the worst natural disasters to hit the east African region in years, some 350 people were killed last year when a mudslide swept through a village in the country's eastern Mount Elgon region.