Flash floods caused by ongoing heavy rains on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam,Tanzania. Xinhua/Shutterstock
At least 200 people were killed and dozens more were injured across East Africa in recent days, officials and aid groups said, as torrential rains, floods and landslides pummeled towns and cities in a region already grappling with the devastating effects of the climate change crisis and dilapidated infrastructure in poor areas.
The extreme rains unleashed a wave of destruction across Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi, flooding homes, demolishing businesses and leaving many people stranded on rooftops.
The downpours exposed yet again the bad roads and poor drainage systems in some of the region’s biggest cities, which residents have persistently complained about. They also revealed how poor people, who live in sprawling shantytowns without access to proper roads, water or power, bear the biggest brunt of destructive floods.
On Thursday, activists and opposition figures across the region called on governments to do more than respond to the extensive destruction wrought by floods, by improving infrastructure to lessen or prevent such flooding in the first place.
Raila Odinga, a longtime opposition figure in Kenya, said authorities should learn from the ongoing devastation and take long-term measures to save lives.
“Preparedness is key to forestalling a crisis of larger proportions,” Mr. Odinga said in a news conference. “We can do better than crying for help when the rains come and crying for help again when the rains fail.”
In Tanzania, at least 155 people were killed and 236 others were injured by the relentless rain that has swept several parts of the country in recent days, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Thursday.
Speaking during a session in Parliament, Mr. Majaliwa said the rains had affected some 200,000 people and heavily damaged farms, bridges, roads, schools and places of worship. About 10,000 homes in Tanzania were also damaged to varying degrees, he said.
The heavy downpours this week affected informal settlements in the Temeke and Ilala districts, which are part of the commercial port city of Dar es Salaam. Some roads were also submerged and temporarily closed on Tuesday in Dar’s Jangwani, Mkwajuni and Kigogo neighborhoods, all of which are prone to floods. Parts of Morogoro Road, which leads into the central part of the city, were also underwater, leading to the suspension of the rapid-bus network.
The Tanzania Meteorological Authority has warned that heavy rains and strong winds would continue to pummel several parts of the country in the coming days.
In Kenya, at least 45 people have died and at least 27 others have been injured since March, when the rainfall season, known in the country as the “long rains,” began, said Munir Ahmed, the senior communications officer with Kenya Red Cross.
The flooding has so far killed 4,000 livestock, destroyed 27,000 acres of crops and damaged 22 roads, Mr. Ahmed said in a phone interview on Thursday. More than 66,000 people have been displaced nationwide, he said.
The intense rainfall has affected 26 of Kenya’s 47 counties, Mr. Munir added.
In Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, where some of the country’s heaviest rain has fallen, more than 30,000 people have been displaced, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. On Tuesday, 18 people, including seven children, who were stranded in the Mathare shantytown were rescued, the Kenya Red Cross said.
Even some middle-income and wealthy suburbs in Nairobi were damaged by the deluge, with some ground-floor apartments and homes engulfed by the floods.
The heavy rains on Wednesday forced Kenya Railways to suspend commuter train services. The Kenya Urban Roads Authority partly closed four major roads in Nairobi and warned of heavy flooding along several major highways in the capital and in the coastal city of Mombasa.
Water inundated several counties around Lake Victoria in western Kenya, aid groups said. Flooding also swept entire roadways in Machakos County, about 35 miles southeast of Nairobi.
On Thursday, President William Ruto of Kenya led an emergency meeting aimed at responding to the floods. Mr. Ruto said government agencies were undertaking joint operations to assist the victims, conduct rescues and evacuate those who remained at risk. Mr. Ruto also said he asked the military to support the operations.
As in Tanzania, the rains in Kenya were not expected to subside over the next few days, according to the Kenya Meteorological Department, which had rain in the forecast for parts of the country, including Nairobi, through Monday. The agency also warned of a high likelihood of breakouts of diseases such as malaria in some areas.
“We need to put everyone on alert,” Mr. Ruto said.
Floods and landslides have also devastated Burundi, where since last month the rising waters of Lake Tanganyika have pushed residents to abandon their homes, according to aid groups.
The latest downpours come just months after torrential rains and floods killed dozens of people and displaced thousands more across the East African region. Climate scientists said those rains — along with preceding devastating droughts — were exacerbated by climate change.
Source: NYT
東非多國遭遇致命暴雨 洪水席捲城市 至少200人死亡
官員和援助組織表示,近幾天來,東非各地至少有200 人死亡,數十人受傷,暴雨、洪水和山體滑坡襲擊了該地區的城鎮,而該地區已經在應對氣候變遷危機的破壞性影響。
暴雨為坦尚尼亞、肯亞和蒲隆地帶來了一波破壞,房屋被淹,企業被摧毀,許多人被困在屋頂上。
傾盆大雨再次暴露了該地區一些大城市糟糕的道路和排水系統,居民對此一直抱怨不休。 他們也揭示了生活在廣闊的棚戶區、沒有適當的道路、水或電力的窮人如何在破壞性洪水中首當其衝。
週四,該地區的活動人士和反對派人士呼籲各國政府不僅應對洪水造成的廣泛破壞,還應先改善基礎設施,以減少或防止此類洪水。
肯亞長期反對派人士拉伊拉·奧廷加表示,當局應該從持續的破壞中汲取教訓,並採取長期措施拯救生命。
奧廷加在新聞發布會上表示:“做好準備是預防更大範圍危機的關鍵。” “我們可以做得更好,而不是在下雨時大聲呼救,在不下雨時再次呼救。”
坦尚尼亞總理卡西姆·馬賈利瓦週四表示,最近幾天席捲該國多個地區的持續暴雨已造成至少 155 人死亡、236 人受傷。
馬賈利瓦先生在議會會議上發表演說時表示,降雨影響了約 20 萬人,農場、橋樑、道路、學校和禮拜場所受到嚴重破壞。 他說,坦尚尼亞約1萬棟房屋也不同程度受損。
本週的大雨影響了特梅克和伊拉拉地區的非正規定居點,這些地區是商業港口城市達累斯薩拉姆的一部分。 週二,達爾的 Jangwani、Mkwajuni 和 Kigogo 社區的一些道路也被淹沒並暫時關閉,這些地區都容易發生洪水。 通往市中心的莫羅戈羅路的部分路段也被淹沒,導致快速公車網路暫停。
坦尚尼亞氣象局警告稱,未來幾天大雨和強風將繼續襲擊該國部分地區。
肯亞紅十字會高級通訊官員穆尼爾·艾哈邁德 (Munir Ahmed) 表示,自 3 月進入肯亞「長雨季」以來,肯亞已造成至少 45 人死亡、至少 27 人受傷。
艾哈邁德週四在電話採訪中表示,迄今為止,洪水已造成 4,000 頭牲畜死亡,毀壞了 27,000 英畝農作物,並損壞了 22 條道路。 他說,全國已有超過 66,000 人流離失所。
穆尼爾先生補充說,強降雨已經影響了肯亞 47 個縣中的 26 個縣。
據聯合國人道主義事務協調辦公室稱,肯亞首都內羅畢遭遇了該國最嚴重的降雨,已有 3 萬多人流離失所。 肯亞紅十字會表示,週二,滯留在馬薩雷棚戶區的 18 人獲救,其中包括 7 名兒童。
週三的大雨迫使肯亞鐵路公司暫停通勤列車服務。 肯亞城市道路管理局部分關閉了內羅畢的四條主要道路,並警告首都和沿海城市蒙巴薩的幾條主要高速公路沿線將出現嚴重洪水。
援助組織稱,洪水淹沒了肯亞西部維多利亞湖周圍的幾個縣。 洪水也席捲了內羅畢東南約 35 英里處的馬查科斯縣的整個道路。
週四,肯亞總統威廉·魯托主持召開了旨在應對洪水的緊急會議。 魯托先生表示,政府機構正在採取聯合行動,協助受害者、進行救援並疏散仍處於危險之中的人。 魯託也表示,他請求軍方支持這些行動。
肯亞氣象部門表示,與坦尚尼亞一樣,肯亞的降雨預計在未來幾天內不會消退,預計截至週一,包括內羅畢在內的該國部分地區將有降雨。 該機構還警告稱,某些地區極有可能爆發瘧疾等疾病。
「我們需要讓每個人都保持警惕,」魯托先生說。
援助組織稱,洪水和山崩也對布隆迪造成了嚴重破壞,自上個月以來,坦噶尼喀湖水位上升,迫使居民放棄家園。
就在幾個月前,東非地區的暴雨和洪水造成數十人死亡、數千人流離失所。 氣候科學家表示,氣候變遷加劇了這些降雨以及先前的毀滅性乾旱。
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