from ALLOYCE KIMBUNGA in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Tanzania Bureau
DAR-ES-SALAAM, (CAJ News) – FOURTEEN (14) children are among 18 people who have died as torrential rains hit Tanzania.
The excessive rains have hit Rungwe district in the southeast of the country, triggering a landslide and causing casualties and damage.
The tragedy has struck several wards, including Ikuti, Kawetele, Lupepo and Nkunga, in recent days.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reports that, in addition to the deaths, five other people have been injured.
Several houses have been destroyed, leaving families homeless.
Moreover, an unspecified number of people are feared to be trapped under the debris, and search-and-rescue operations led by the authorities are ongoing, the Red Cross noted.
Forecasts by Meteo Tanzania indicated that over the weekend, cloudy skies and light to moderate rain with thunderstorms would be experienced across the affected district.
This comes as flooding, blamed on climate change, sweeps across Central, East and Southern Africa.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania’s western neighbour, is also bearing the brunt.
As of publishing, two people have died since Tuesday; two people have been reported dead, 33 injured, 4 710 displaced and 150 000 affected across the country, according to the Red Cross.
IFRC also reports multiple destroyed homes.
Meteo stated that over the next 48 hours, additional moderate rain and isolated thunderstorms are forecast over large parts of the country, with isolated heavy rain in the east.
– CAJ News