Strabag workers being ferried by a caterpillar to escape floods in undated company`s offices at Jangwani, Dar es Salaam, following heavy rains yesterday.
Eight people have reportedly died during the ongoing downpours in Dar es Salaam city and its environs. Some hundreds of residents are also said to have been rendered homeless.
The rains also left hundreds of passengers and tourists headed for Bagamoyo district stranded yesterday after the Mpiji Bridge located at Bunju B in Kinondoni district was swept by floods.
A survey carried out by this newspaper established that most parts of the city, including Kigogo, Mtoni Mtongani, Mikocheni, Jangwani Valley and Tabata Relini were inundated, paralysing human activities, including transport to and from various parts of the city and its environs.
The Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) on Friday issued a strong weather forecast predicting heavy rains, strong winds and sea storms which could barter some regions across the country for three days running beginning last Friday.
The statement identified coastal and southern regions as likely hotspots, causing heavy floods to prone areas, including some residential suburbs of Dar es Salaam and its environs.
The statement further said that the rains would exceed 50mm, falling within 24hours from Friday, accompanied by strong winds exceeding 40km/hr and powerful storms reaching 2m medium height, which could bring about vast impacts on habitats and economic installations in many areas.
The most prone areas expected to experience rough weather, according to the statement, were identified as Unguja, Pemba, Dar es Salaam, Coast and Tanga regions, with the possibility of spreading to Lindi, Mtwara and Morogoro regions.
The Minister for Works John Magufuli and Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadick visited the site where the bridge once stood, trying to quickly assess the damage before coordinating repair work and logistics.
The minister said that by 1:00pm at least 30 metres of the tarmac road had been washed away, caused mainly by torrential rains that started on Friday.
“We have been here since morning and we have seen the extent of demage on the road. At around 8:00 am only three metres of the tarmac had been washed away … but by 1:00pm about 30 metres of the tarmac had already been destroyed … and the damage continues,” he said.
He said the government had temporarily closed the new Bagamoyo road for two days to pave way for the construction of the Mpiji Bridge.
He also urged bus operators and private car owners headed for Bagamoyo to use the feeder roads that pass through Bunju via Kibaha.
Magufuli urged people in the affected areas to remain calm because government had taken measures to address the situation.
The minister said a Dar es Salaam based construction company, SKOL and ESTIM of Bagamoyo had joined forces to ensure the work was completed on time.
He also explained that the government had consulted the army for possible technical assistance in providing more temporary bridges in order to resume transportation activities while construction is in progress.
Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadick who was accompanied by the Commissioner for Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Suleiman Kova also visited the affected area, urged passenger to find alternative routes.
Speaking on the death toll caused by the rains Sadick said initial reports show that at least eight people died in the city, seven of whom were swept by floodwaters after they force to pass the flooded rivers.
However, he added that not only the Mpiji Bridge was damaged, adding that various parts of the city and key infrastructures had been destroyed, saying the road linking Chanika and Mbagala was now impassable.
Some of the city residents who spoke to The Guardian on Sunday described the floods as historic since the last one occurred in 2011.
Meanwhile, RC has said the government won’t provide any support to flood victims who have defied advice to move away from valleys, some of whom have claimed to have nowhere to go since the government had never given them plots in safer areas such as Mabwepande.
According to Jangwani B Ten cell leader Pilu Mahesh, only five out of 193 families he leads had acquired settlements at Mabwepande during the 2011 floods, and that the rest were still waiting for help.
This reporter saw people salvaging various items from the water, including shop commodities even though Jangwani residents don’t own shops.
“I was passing through when I saw people collecting valuable things like cupboards, vehicle tires………and motorcycles. I decided to join them and got some matchboxes and a wardrobe … they are not very good … but still useful all the same,” said one Francis Mang’onda, a passer-by.
Around Jangwani secondary school area, victims had gathered at a nearby bus stop, to be, of the Dar Rapid Transit (DART) project.
Meanwhile, DART project manager with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) Tanzania, Li Qiaojia said the company had lost $30,000 worth of equipment to the floods.
“we have lost some 2,000 cement bags, three vehicles, construction machines and other building materials,” he said.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY.
via ippmedia.
No Comment to " Eight die as rains wreck havoc in Dar "