Deadly rains and floods have struck Tanzania, claiming 58 lives over the past two weeks, as announced by the government spokesperson on Sunday, April 14th in Dar Es Salaam. The Tanzanian government is actively engaged in assisting the victims and those affected by the disaster.
The rainy season, typically intense in Tanzania during April, is exacerbated this year by the climatic phenomenon El Niño: a rise in temperatures in the Eastern Pacific leading to droughts in some areas and torrential rains in others.
This is evident in Tanzania where heavy rains since the beginning of the month have caused severe flooding, particularly along the coastal zone, resulting in 11 fatalities. In the northern part of the country, a bus was swept away by the floodwaters, resulting in the tragic loss of eight schoolchildren.
More than 10,000 households and over 75,000 agricultural farms have also been damaged by the floods, according to Tanzanian government figures, which are actively engaged in providing relief to the victims and delivering initial emergency aid.
Nearly half of the country’s regions are on high alert, and according to the Tanzanian Meteorological Authority, heavy rains are expected to persist until the end of the month. In neighboring Kenya, at least 13 people have been killed, and 15,000 displaced by the rains and floods, as per a report dated April 9th.
A similar phenomenon occurred last December, resulting in the deaths of over 300 people across East Africa and displacing over a million in Somalia alone.