After days of ‘heavy El Nino’ torrential rains across East Africa, flooding and landslides in Tanzania has killed at least 155 people, the country’s prime minister said, while at least 13 persons have died in neighboring Kenya.
The East African region has been pounded by heavier-than-usual rainfall during the current rainy season. In an address to Tanzania’s parliament earlier this week, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said that the flooding and landslides have impacted 200,000 people, killing at least 155 persons and injuring 236 others. Floods also caused significant damage to homes, infrastructure and crops in parts of the country.
Meanwhile, overflowing rivers have also caused severe damage in parts of neighboring Kenya and Burundi, submerging entire houses, businesses, along with critical infrastructure.
Authorities in Kenya have reported at least 35 fatalities and thousands who have been forced to evacuate their homes after flash floods hit the capital city of Nairobi, with the numbers expected to increase as torrential rains continue across the country.
In Burundi, one of the world’s poorest countries, around 96,000 people have been displaced by months of relentless rains. Heavy storms in Uganda have caused riverbanks to burst, with two fatalities confirmed and several hundred villagers displaced. With the “Gu” rains (from April to June) intensifying in Somalia, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned this week that floods reported in the Horn of Africa country since 19 April are set to continue.