DAR ES SALAAM: At least 47 people have been killed and 85 others wounded in landslides triggered by flooding in northern Tanzania, a local official said on Sunday.
Queen Sendiga, regional commissioner in the Manyara area of Tanzania, told media that the death toll has climbed to 47 while 85 other injured in the natural catastrophe.
Earlier, District commissioner Janeth Mayanja said that heavy rain hit the town of Katesh on Saturday, 300 kilometers away from the capital Dodoma. She feared that the death toll could rise.
She went on to say that many roads in the area had been blocked by mud, water and uprooted trees and stones.
Tanzania’s President Orders Rescue Efforts
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is Dubai to attend the COP28 climate conference, in her condolence message said she had ordered more government efforts to rescue people.
East Africa after witnessing an unprecedented drought, has been hit by torrential rain and flooding for week. Experts link the climate change in Africa with the El Nino weather phenomenon.
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The heavy rains have displaced more than a million people in Somalia and killed hundreds.
In May this year, the rains caused massive floods and landslides in Rwanda that killed at least 130 people.
El Nino is a weather pattern that starts naturally in the Pacific Ocean and brings increased heat to some areas and heavy rains elsewhere.
Scientists predict the worst effects of the El Nino could be felt at the end of 2023 and next year.
From October 1997 and January 1998, devastating flood caused by El Nino phenomena killed 6,000 people in five countries in the African region.
Scientists believe that flooding, thunderstorms, droughts and wildfires have become longer, more strong and more frequent by climate change.
