A herd of 70 elephants has raided villages in Tanzania's northern district of Simanjiro in Manyara region, destroying a total of 250 hectares of farm crops belonging to villagers, an official said on Tuesday.

The marauding elephants have been wreaking havoc to some villages in the district for quiet sometime now, said Albert Msole, a councilor for Ngorika ward.

"The marauding elephants are a nuisance to the villagers," Msole told a meeting of councilors for Manyara region, adding that some villagers have lost hectares of their farm crops bringing to 250 the number of hectares destroyed by the mammals.

He appealed to wildlife authorities to drive away the elephants reportedly strayed from Lake Manyara National Park before they caused more devastating damage to the villages.

Athuman Iddi, one of the villagers, said the elephants have destroyed five hectares of his maize crop, threatening his household's food security.