UPDATES DEATH TOLL
By Kizito Makoye Shigela
MANYARA, Tanzania (AA) - Tanzania’s president cut short her trip to the UN climate summit in Dubai as the death toll from floods due to heavy rains in northern Tanzania has surged to 65. Over 110 people are also reported injured, and more than 5,000 people are homeless in the wake of this calamity, officials said on Tuesday.
Queen Sendiga, commission in the northern region of Manyara, said on national television that the death toll rose from the previously reported 63, with one additional body recovered from the mud, and another injured victim succumbing to their injuries in the hospital.
"Rescue efforts are still underway; we have been working until late at night, and the operation resumes this morning," she stated.
Sendiga blamed the deaths on a series of landslides triggered by torrential rains that pounded the impoverished region, causing a segment of Mount Hanang to erode and bury nearby homes.
"The government has established temporary shelters for all the victims, providing essential provisions and medical services," she said.
Former MP James Mbatia, a trained engineer and disaster preparedness expert, criticized the government for what he described as a sluggish response to both natural and man-made disasters.
"We don't have a coherent disaster preparedness contingency plan, that is why many lives are lost helplessly because authorities aren’t responding timely," he said.