Heavy rainfalls have left at least 155 people dead in Tanzania. The torrential rains linked to El Nino triggered flooding and landslides, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Thursday.
Report states that Tanzania and other countries in East Africa have been pounded by heavier than usual rainfall during the current rainy season. Dozens of deaths have also been reported in Kenya.
According to Majaliwa, more than 51,000 households and 200,000 people have been affected by the rains. He pointed that the country recorded 155 fatalities and 236 people injured.
“The heavy El Nino rains, accompanied by strong winds, floods, and landslides in various parts of the country, have caused significant damage,” Majaliwa told parliament in Tanzania’s capital Dodoma.
“These include loss of life, destruction of crops, homes, citizens’ property, and infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and railways,” he added.
El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat worldwide. It is causes drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere. In East Africa, it has caused a devastating impact in the region.In Burundi, one of the poorest countries on the planet, around 96,000 people have been displaced by months of relentless rains.
In a related development, about 45 people have been killed in Kenya since the start of the rainy season in March. This include 13 person who lost their lives in flash floods in the capital city of Nairobi this week.
Following the disaster, the Kenyan President William Ruto convened an emergency multi-agency meeting Thursday. The meeting was to respond to the crisis after torrential rains triggered floods that caused chaos across the city. Most of the roads were blocked and bridges and engulfing homes in slum districts flooded.
Following the flooding, Kenyans have been warned to stay on alert. This is coming after a forecast for more heavy rains across the country. However, Kenyan officials have said people living in the most vulnerable areas would be relocated.
“The Government… will do whatever it takes. Apply all the required resources in terms of money and personnel to make sure that lives are not lost. And that the people of Kenya are protected from this disaster,” Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua stated at a press briefing.
Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian response agency OCHA has predicted flood disaster in Somalia. It stated this in an update this week. OCHA said that in Somalia, the Gu (April to June) rains are intensifying with flash floods reported since April 19.
The agency reported that four people have been reportedly killed. And at least, 134 families or more than 800 people were affected or displaced across the country.
“Late last year, more than 300 people died in torrential rains and floods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. This was just as the region was trying to recover from its worst drought in four decades that left millions of people hungry.
Recall that from October 1997 to January 1998, massive floods caused more than 6,000 deaths in five countries in the region.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in March that El Nino, which peaked in December, was one of the five strongest ever recorded.
source: Daily Trust
