Constant rain is ravaging Tanzania, flooding has already claimed the lives of at least 155 people

At least 155 people have now died in Tanzania due to flooding, after weeks of incessant rain in the East African country. Thousands of houses have also been destroyed, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said in his parliament on Thursday, according to Tanzanian media. At the beginning of last week, the death toll stood at 58.

According to Majaliwa, the regularly recurring climate phenomenon El Niño is the cause of the heavy rainfall in eastern Africa. El Niño returns every two to seven years. From the ocean it causes extra heat in the air, causing the earth to warm up even more. There is normally a lot of rain in the Horn of Africa, among other places. The 2023-2024 El Niño is among the five strongest ever recorded, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The phenomenon usually lasts nine to twelve months.

Majaliwa said Tanzanians living in low-lying areas should look to higher ground. Local authorities are being called on to help people who have lost their homes to the floods. More than 51,000 households have been affected by the heavy rainfall in various ways. The country’s infrastructure has also been damaged by the rainfall, leaving some people unable to move.

Kenya and Burundi also suffer a lot from flooding due to rainfall, which is also accompanied by heavy winds. On Monday, the death toll in Kenya stood at 35, but because the rainfall has not yet ended, this is expected to continue to rise. The Kenyan capital Nairobi is partially flooded. About a hundred thousand people have been displaced in Burundi.

Tanzanians are being rescued by boats in Mohoro, a rural flooded area in the east of the country. Photo AFP