Severe flooding and landslides have killed at least 47 people and wounded 80 others in northern Tanzania
The death toll is expected to keep climbing near the slopes of Mount Hanang, where President Samia Hassan has now deployed national security forces to help rescue efforts.
Last month in Tanzania, higher than usual rainfall resulted in deaths and destruction to property in the capital Dar es Salaam and the areas of Kigoma, Kagera, Geita and Unguja.
Search and rescue operations were underway in the Manyara region as authorities fear some bodies might be trapped in the mud, Manyara region commissioner Queen Sendiga told reporters late on Sunday.
“As of the evening, we have rescued 85 injured persons who are continuing with the treatments and others have been discharged. The death toll has increased to 47 people,” she said.
Around 100 houses in the village of Katesh, Hanang district, were swallowed by a landslide, President Samia Suluhu Hassan said in a video message posted online by the ministry of health.
“We are very shocked by this event,” Suluhu said.
Climate change is causing more intense and more frequent extreme weather events, according to climate scientists.