The devastating impact of floods and landslides in northern Tanzania has surged, resulting in 47 casualties and leaving another 85 individuals injured due to heavy rainfall, as stated by a senior government official.
A combination of the El Nino and Indian Ocean dipole weather phenomena has triggered severe flooding, leading to hundreds of fatalities in Kenya and Somalia, displacing hundreds of thousands since the onset of seasonal rains in October.
Authorities in the Manyara region are conducting search and rescue operations, fearing that some victims might remain trapped in the mud, revealed Manyara region commissioner Queen Sendiga during a late Sunday briefing to reporters.
“As of the evening, we have rescued 85 injured persons who are continuing with the treatments and others have been discharged. The death toll has increased to 47 people,” she said.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, in an online video message shared by the ministry of health, reported approximately 100 houses in the village of Katesh, Hanang district, were engulfed by a landslide.
“We are very shocked by this event,” Suluhu said.
Climate scientists emphasize that climate change is contributing to more frequent and intensified extreme weather events globally.
