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DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania | Xinhua | Fikirini Mohamed, a father of three children, said he was spending sleepless nights thinking how to look after his family after his house was damaged by floods.
“I am now counting losses after my 5 hectares of maize and paddy were wiped out by the floods,” said Mohamed, a 49-year-old farmer in Rufiji, a district in Tanzania’s Coast region.
Like Mohamed, hundreds of thousands of Tanzanians are reeling from weeks of devastating flash floods triggered by El Nino-influenced torrential rains across the country.
Tanzanians, including motorists, fishermen, and farmers, who were not used to acquainting themselves with daily weather forecasts, are now closely following updates released by the state-run Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA).
According to the latest official statistics, 161 people have been killed by flash floods since August last year, when the TMA warned of above-normal to normal El-Nino influenced rainfall through May 2024.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa told parliament recently that flash floods have been reported in 14 out of 26 mainland Tanzania regions, affecting 200,000 people and damaging over 10,000 houses.
School infrastructure, farm crops, roads, bridges, health facilities, and livestock have also been impacted by the floods, he said.
“The government has taken steps aimed at preventing further catastrophic situations, like ordering the closure of schools in areas severely affected by the floods,” Majaliwa told the House in the capital, Dodoma.
On April 19, Deputy Minister of Finance Hamad Chande told lawmakers that the government had set aside 136.2 billion Tanzanian shillings (about 52.6 million U.S. dollars) for the renovation of infrastructure, including roads and bridges, damaged by the ongoing heavy rains.
The Tanzania National Roads Agency, the Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency, and the Tanzania Railways Corporation were ordered to undertake an urgent assessment of damaged roads and railways for immediate renovation.
“The government is continuing to carry out a nationwide assessment to determine the extent of damage to roads and bridges caused by the rains,” Chande said.
The floods have forced more than 8,000 pupils in Rufiji and Kibiti districts, in the Coast region in eastern Tanzania, to miss school after their schools were submerged.
The aftermath of the devastating floods is now being compounded by the onslaught of tropical storm Hidaya.
According to the latest TMA update, Hidaya has lost its strength after it landed on Mafia Island on Saturday.
Clouds associated with Hidaya spread over most of the southern part of the country, including Lindi, Mtwara, Coast regions and nearby areas, resulting in heavy rains in some areas, the TMA said in a statement.
As of 3 p.m. local time, Kilwa Masoko, in Lindi region, reported 200.8 millimeters of rainfall for the previous six hours, the TMA said.
Periods of strong winds exceeding 40 kilometers per hour were observed in Mtwara, Kilwa, Zanzibar, Tanga and Dar es Salaam at different times, the statement said.
It urged the public, especially those in at-risk areas, to take maximum precautions to minimize potential impacts. ■
