Tanzania blocks a main route as flooding destroys bridges

After flash floods destroyed at least four major bridges, Tanzania’s 396-kilometer route linking the port city of Dar es Salaam with the southern provinces of Lindi and Mtwara was closed on Sunday.

When contacted by phone, Joseph Mwasabeja, the head of the Tanzania Fire and Rescue Force for the Lindi district, informed Xinhua that the highway had been closed “until further notice.”

According to Mr. Mwasabeja, the tropical cyclone Hidaya’s strong overnight precipitation, which occurred after it made landfall on Mafia Island earlier on Saturday, was what caused the flash floods.

He claimed that in the Kilwa area of the Lindi region, bridges across the Mbwemkuru, Somanga, Mikereng’ende, and Matandu rivers were destroyed by the floodwaters.

According to Kilwa district commissioner Mohamed Nyundo, the floodwaters also flooded a number of homes in seven villages, forcing hundreds of hectares of agricultural crops to be damaged and forcing a large number of inhabitants to flee.

After making landfall on Mafia Island earlier on Saturday, tropical storm Hidaya was declared to have entirely lost its power by the Tanzania Meteorological Authority on Saturday night.

The country’s Indian Ocean coast regions of Mtwara, Lindi, Coast, Tanga, and Dar es Salaam were predicted to be affected by the tropical storm.

In the nation, landslides and floods have claimed the lives of at least 155 people.