By JOHN MBALAMWEZI
Tanzania was last week left nursing heavy losses after heavy rainfall wreaked hundreds of homes and towns, crippling transport, catching Dar es Salaam off guard and exposing the country’s frail disaster management mechanisms.
The government said it is fearing there could be more casualties from the disaster even as the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) warned of more floods.
The rainfall, the highest since independence, claimed lives of more than 23 people, damaged infrastructure and property. This is the second time in four months that Tanzania was caught napping by disasters after more than 200 people died in September after a ferry sunk off the coast of Nungwi village, leaving Tanzania battling its worst maritime disaster in 15 years.
Despite repeated assurances by the government that Tanzania was well equipped to deal with disasters, rescuers laboured to get people to safety, treating casualties, preventing further damage and managing panic — the key elements of disaster management. Tanzania now faces a huge relief and reconstruction effort, even as more damage looms large as the rains pound.
“There is a need for the responsible authorities to unlock the storm drains and open water ways to control flooding especially in those areas where rain still persists,” said Agnes Kijazi, the Director General of TMA adding South East Highland regions of Mbeya, Iringa and Rukwa; Central Zones of Dodoma and Singida and the Western Zones of Kigoma and Tabora will also experience more than normal rainfall over this period.
Widespread destruction of property and infrastructure was evident in some streets and thousands of people were left homeless when their houses were swept away. TMA said the rains were caused by the building of pressure over the Indian Ocean, which created heavy clouds along the coastline.
Dar es Salaam is prone to flooding even in the event of light rains due to poor drainage systems in the city. Statistics available show that in the year 2001 four people were killed in floods in Dar es salaam caused by a four-hour constant downpour.
The rain also left a line of destruction of personal properties public infrastructures and hundreds homeless. Ten years after the City experienced the last flood disaster in the year 2001, this time around; the accident that happened in the early morning hours of Tuesday and Wednesday again exposed weaknesses still inherent in search and rescue operations in the country.
Already the government has created a rescue task force from different disciplines that combines medical doctors, Tanzania Defence Police Force TDPF, the Army and Citizen Police (Polisi Jamii). Analysts say that apart from creating task forces created to assist victims during a disaster, the government should also take measures to come up with appropriate solutions for disaster even before the worst happens.
