155 people were killed in Tanzania in floods caused by the “El Niño” phenomenon

Tanzania – 155 people died in Tanzania due to heavy rains linked to the “El Niño” climate phenomenon, which caused floods and mudslides.

Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said today, Thursday, during a session in Parliament that “heavy rains associated with the El Niño phenomenon” caused “severe damage” in various regions of the country.

It affected more than 51,000 families and 200,000 people, while about 236 people were injured and more than 10,000 homes were damaged.

On April 14, the government spokesman announced that 58 people had been killed during the first two weeks of the month, which usually represents the peak of the rainy season in Tanzania.

The winter season this year coincided with a wave of “El Niño” that began in mid-2023 and may continue until May, according to what the World Meteorological Organization reported on March 5.

In addition to rising temperatures, the El Niño phenomenon causes droughts in parts of the world and heavy rains in other areas.

In Kenya, at least 45 people have died since the start of the rainy season in March. Floods swept through the capital, Nairobi, yesterday, Wednesday, causing the death of 13 people.

In Burundi, the authorities reported 96,000 internally displaced people due to heavy rains that have been falling almost non-stop for several months.
This is not the first time that East Africa has suffered under the weight of El Niño. In December, at least 89 people were killed as a result of landslides and torrential rains in northern Tanzania.

More than 300 people died in the area. In Somalia, floods displaced more than one million people.

From October 1997 until January 1998, powerful floods fueled by torrential rains caused by El Niño killed more than 6,000 people in the five countries of the region.