Twenty people perished in a mudslide in Same District on Tuesday night, triggered by the heavy rains that have pounded parts of the Kilimanjaro Region in the past three days.
Yesterday, local officials, who confirmed that 20 bodies had been recovered, expressed fears that the death toll would rise, as the search and rescue mission continued into the night.
Between 10 and 15 people were reported missing, and it was feared that they could be trapped under the massive soil that broke away and rolled down, burying whole families alive as they slept in their homes in Goha village.
But eight of the villagers were lucky to escape death, as they were pulled out of the sludge that had completely submerged seven houses.
Immediately on learning of the tragedy, Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Monica Mbega, the Regional Police Commissioner, Mr Lucas Ng'oboko, Same District Commissioner Ibrahim Marwa and local MP Anne Kilango-Malecela rushed to the scene to coordinate the grim rescue effort.
The fatal disaster is the first major incident that could herald the start of the heavy rains associated with the impending El Niño rains that weathermen have warned is going to wreak havoc in the region and other parts of the country.
Reports said the mudslide struck at about 1am, when the village was dead asleep, with torrents sweeping the mud from the surrounding hills down the valley.
Speaking from the scene, Mr Cyprian Machemuli, a district technician, told The Citizen by telephone that among the dead, four were women, three men and 11 children – eight girls and three boys.
Police released the names of some of the dead as Neema Shambi, 70, Napenda Bakari, 7, Namsemba Bakari, 11, Sikuzani Elitaabu, 20, Nath John, 12, Haika Charles, 3, Mariam Juma, 4, Wemael Mhina, 30, Ruth Mhina, 6, Neema Bakari, 8, and Christina Kiondo, 32.
Others were Elitabu Shambi, 30, Shambi Elineema, 11, Ndimangwa Elneema, 5, Amani Mhina, 9, Kiondo Amani, 37, Imani Kiondo, 9, and Nikundiwe Kiondo, 5.
The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi chairman for Mamba-Miamba Ward, Mr Dia Mbwambo, said members of a family of six were among those who perished.
"My sister, Rehema Kikera, her husband, Bakari Hoyange, and their four children are among the dead," the tearful party official said.
Mr Machemuli said the mudslide occurred in his ward, some 80 Kilometres from Same Town.
"Most of the bodies are badly damaged and following a directive by the district commissioner, we are in preparation to bury them this evening," he said.
The rescue team, he added, was waiting for more equipment from Tanga to speed up the excavation. Yesterday, police and villagers used spades and hoes to remove the soil.
Mr Marwa said the eight survivors were rescued by locals, who rushed to the village, on learning of the tragedy.
"The number of the dead could reach 25. Nine injured people are being treated at the scene by health personnel," he said.
The Mamba-Miamba councillor, Mr Michael Chikira Mauya, said the seven houses buried had between 20 and 28 occupants.
Ms Kilango-Malecela was forced to cancel her official tour of Butiama in Mara Region and rush back to her constituency.
She said: "The houses have been so flattened that one wouldn’t imagine there were homes in that place. It's something we have never experienced before."
The disaster has struck only a few days after our sister paper, the Sunday Citizen, exclusively reported that the authorities were not doing enough to prepare to counter the effects of El Niño phenomenon.
A survey by the paper indicated that that the Government’s response would be severely hampered by lack of funds, as no budgetary allocations had been made.
Local councils across the country confirmed that no money had been set aside for El Niño emergency, with some officials saying they would rely on the central government's disaster department in the Prime Minister's office for funding.
But the Minister of State in The Prime Minister's Office in charge of disaster management, Mr Philip Marmo, said though no funds had been set aside, the ministry of Finance would release money to tackle any disasters. However, he urged councils to make their own arrangements.
Yesterday, the minister could not be reached to comment on the Same disaster.
The mudslide follows rain-related destruction of property in Maore, Ngungu, Kihurio and Bendera villages, where two students are believed to have drowned after being swept away by the raging waters from Same hills.
The Director of Same District Council, Mr Juma Idd, said the students, from Ndungu and Mpinji Wards, met their fate on November 9.
Other wards hit by floods in Same are Mtii, Bombo, Mpinji and Miamba located on the hillside. Mr Iddi said that the rains had damaged roads, making the hilly areas almost impossible to reach. Maize, banana and paddy farms have been washed away by flood waters.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned two weeks ago that floods associated with El Niño would worsen the acute food supply and humanitarian situation in some countries, requiring governments spend more funds to mitigate the consequences.
Reported by Ray Naluyaga, Daniel Mjema and Rehema Matowo
