In a tragic turn of events following relentless heavy rainfall, the death toll from landslides and flooding in northern Tanzania has surged to 68, leaving a community devastated and rescue operations in full swing to locate survivors.
The affected area, the hillside town of Katesh, situated 300 kilometers north of the capital Dodoma, witnessed the destructive force of torrential downpours over the weekend, resulting in the washout of vehicles, the collapse of buildings, and severe disruption to critical infrastructure.
As rescue teams tirelessly combed through the wreckage, images broadcasted on television depicted the aftermath of the disaster, with debris from homes and furniture scattered across the streets. The calamity has rendered key roads impassable, power lines inoperable, and communication networks severed.
Regional Commissioner Queen Sendiga confirmed the somber count of 68 casualties as of Monday evening, underscoring the ongoing efforts to retrieve more victims. Tanzania’s Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, during a ceremony in Katesh to hand over the remains to grieving families, expressed condolences and acknowledged the possibility of discovering additional bodies.
The disaster has also left 116 individuals injured, heightening the urgency of the search and rescue operations, with military assistance employed to navigate the treacherous conditions and locate those potentially trapped beneath the thick mud.
Heart-wrenching accounts from locals paint a vivid picture of the devastation, with one market worker revealing the complete obliteration of their workplace. Meanwhile, another resident anxiously waits for news of missing relatives, describing the search process as “very stressful.” Esther Bohay, who narrowly escaped the deluge with her family, recounts the harrowing experience of witnessing the streets outside her home transform into a torrent of mud amid the relentless rain.
The disaster’s magnitude becomes even more apparent as reports indicate that at least 100 houses succumbed to the mudslide, and an entire village with 28 families was flattened. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has curtailed her participation in the COP28 climate talks in Dubai, redirecting her focus to the crisis at home.
This calamity is part of a broader regional challenge, with Tanzania and neighboring countries like Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia grappling with flash floods linked to the El Nino weather pattern. The unfortunate incident compounds the existing humanitarian crisis in the region, recovering from a severe drought that left millions grappling with hunger.
