A family ponders their next move in Matumbulu Ward, Dodoma, yesterday after their house was destroyed by flash floods caused by heavy rain that pounded the municipality and its environs on Monday night, rendering at least 2,000 people homeless. PHOTO | EDWIN MJWAHUZI
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The worst hit areas were in Dodoma and Morogoro, where the damage was estimated to run into hundreds of millions of shillings following downpours that began just before midnight on Monday.
Dodoma/Morogoro/Mwanza. Thousands were rendered homeless after their houses were destroyed by floods in various parts of the country yesterday.
The worst hit areas were in Dodoma and Morogoro, where the damage was estimated to run into hundreds of millions of shillings following downpours that began just before midnight on Monday.
Nearly 400 houses were damaged and thousands others were flooded in Matumbulu, Mpunguzi and Nzuguni wards in the municipality, forcing their occupants to seek shelter elsewhere.
Bahi District in Dodoma Region also bore the brunt of the relentless deluge.
Two people – an elderly woman and a child – were injured when the houses they were sleeping in caved in at Matumbulu and Mpunguzi, respectively. They were rushed to hospital in a serious condition.
The Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) warned last month that some parts of the country would experience El Nino rains between December, last year, and April, this year.
Yesterday, Mr Pascal Sijila, the Kigwe Ward Councillor in Bahi District, told The Citizen that more than 240 families were left homeless after their houses were swept away by floods, leaving over 500 people homeless.
“It’s a catastrophe. Many families are homeless as their houses have been demolished. The floods have also swept away utensils, food and livestock. We appeal to the district and regional administrations to help us,” he said.
Enraged residents of Mpunguzi and Matumbulu wards used stones and logs to block a section of the Dodoma-Iringa road after more than 400 homes were destroyed by floods.
They were infuriated by what they claimed was the government’s failure to repair flood defences on hills overlooking the villages.
Matumbulu Ward Executive Officer Dionis Samo told The Citizen that an embankment that was meant to hold back floodwaters was damaged on January 1 by heavy rains, which also destroyed houses and left about 800 people homeless.
“We informed district and regional leaders, who promised to send a contractor, who came and started ferrying away sand instead of repairing the embankment.
“With nothing to hold back water from the hills, the villages were ravaged by flash floods caused by last night’s rain. People are furious because the government did not take their concerns seriously,” Mr Samo said.
He added that tents were urgently needed to shelter those who had been rendered homeless, many of whom had lost everything to the floods.
Dodoma Urban District Commissioner Yasmin Tisekwa, Dodoma Urban MP Anthony Mavunde and other senior local leaders visited the areas to calm down angry residents.
The villagers agreed to remove barricades from the road after they were promised that the embankment would be repaired as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Nzuguni was cut off from the rest of Dodoma Municipality after a key bridge was flooded. Residents woke up to find the bridge had disappeared under water.
Hundreds of pupils could not go to school, while many people cancelled their daily schedules and returned home after they were unable to use the bridge.
