Since the beginning of this month, almost 60 individuals have lost their lives due to intense rains and flooding across various regions of Tanzania, according to government reports.
The coastal areas of this East African nation have been particularly hard hit, with thousands of farms suffering damage from the floods, as stated by Mobhare Matinyi, the government spokesperson, in a release on Sunday.
Mr. Matinyi further noted, “Severe flooding has impacted the coastal region, resulting in the loss of 11 lives.”
Tragically, last Friday, eight schoolchildren perished when their bus plunged into a flooded gorge in the northern part of the country.
April signifies the apex of Tanzania’s rainy season, and this year has witnessed the most substantial rainfall in recent memory.
The torrential downpours have also caused casualties, claiming at least 13 lives and displacing around 15,000 people in neighboring Kenya, according to the United Nations.
Weather experts attribute the exacerbated rainfall this year to the El Niño weather phenomenon.